Bureau frees Yunnan farmer
Woman held for begging Wen for help
A FARMER who was detained for begging Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao for help on her knees during the latter’s visit to the earthquake-stricken Yiliang county in Yunnan province in September has been released.
The public security bureau of Zhaotong city, which administers Yiliang, overruled the decision by the local police to arrest 29-year-old Liang Yonglan and apologised to her for making a mistake in the course of detaining her.
It was reported that last Tuesday, Liang paid a 1,000 yuan (RM491) bail for her release a day after she was arrested for “causing traffic chaos and severe social disorder”.
Three days later, the Yiliang county chief and public security bureau director Li Jiajun and 10 of his bureau officers visited Liang’s house to offer her an official apology.
Liang’s husband Hu Jifei was quoted by Beijing News as saying that the police would not continue to pursue the matter against Liang and three other villagers who were also cited in the notice of administrative detention.
“The public security bureau’s apology was good enough. If they do not pay any compensation, (it’s okay) and we will not persist in the matter,” he said.
The Zhaotong city public security bureau said, after conducting a thorough investigation into the matter, that it decided to cancel the arrest notice and requested for the county police to learn from its mistake.
It is learnt that the police had also returned the 1,000 yuan (RM491) bail to Liang.
In the wee hours of Sept 8, knowing that the premier was coming to the village to visit the earthquake victims, Liang took the opportunity to express her frustration over unfair compensation of land acquisition in the area.
Whenshe saw a dozen other villagers kneeling on the ground at a road junction, Liang too did the same.
Then, the police patrol cars stopped at the junction and several policemen got out of their cars before pulling the villagers up to their feet.
Beijing News quoted Liang as saying that the premier stepped out of the car to see what was going on.
“He asked us if we wanted to tell him something. Then, the villagers in the front row told him that the compensation given to the villagers affected by the land acquisition was much lower – only about 20,000 yuan (RM9,822) for 0.066ha – compared to those offered in other areas.
“The villagers depend on agricultural cultivation on our land to make a living. After listening to us, the premier said that since we told him about all this, it meant that we trusted him and he promised us that he would give us a satisfactory answer,” she said.
She added that the premier then shook hands with her and other villagers.
A few days after the meeting with the premier, four officials from the local commission for discipline inspection and several other police officers visited Liang to record her statements.
She did not expect to be detained by the police, saying that her act of begging for the premier’s help did not cause a traffic congestion that lasted for 20 minutes as claimed by the police.
It was reported that the local land authorities had no intention to increase the amount of compensation for the land acquired from the villagers yet.
In China, where there are loopholes in its land acquisition laws, tens of thousands of people fight against the government for fairer compensation and better treatment every year.
Some even set themselves on fire to resist forceful demolition of their homes while others refused to move out, thereby dragging on development projects and causing a stalemate.
The Liang family and other families affected by the land grab in the Yiliang county were considered the lucky ones because of the special attention from Premier Wen and added urgency from higher-ups.
In Xiayangzhang village in Zhejiang province, Luo Baogen, 67, and his 65-year-old wife are not so lucky.
They have been involved in a stand-off with the local officials for more than four years but a resolution does not seem forthcoming.
The couple, who made headlines across China, refused to leave their dilapidated home which is situated in the middle of a new road that is being built in the area.
In 2008, more than 500 families in the area began to relocate but the couple decided to stay put as they claimed that the government’s compensation of 260,000 yuan (RM127,691) wasnotenoughto cover the cost of building another house.
Daxi township deputy chief Lin Xufang was quoted as saying that the compensation was 30 yuan (RM14.70) more than the standard set by the government and it would be unfair to others if it bowed to the couple’s demand.