China: Three reporters missing in Guangdong land protest

From RFA’s Mandarin service: In Heping county, Guangdong province, three reporters whose video equipment carried the China Central Television (CCTV) logo are missing after they interviewed local villagers about how tens of thousands of mu of farmland had been expropriated for commercial use.

On December 26, after the three wrapped up their interviews with the villagers, officials from the local county government took them away and said they were to be treated to a meal.  But the three have been missing since.

Dongzhou drama escalates, 2,000 police on guard

The drama in Dongzhou, a small fishing village in Guangdong province, seems destined to escalate. At least that’s what the villagers say, as local official insist that any troubles have been minor and are long past. The latest news comes from native witnesses on the ground—reporters are being bundled away—who say some 2,000 police are guarding a key electricity pylon in the village, site of a deadly crackdown two years ago.
Witnesses told RFA’s Mandarin service that 1,000 more police were sent in Dec. 22, in addition to some 1,000 police sent in earlier.

Reservoirs of grievance: A Tianjin land dispute

From RFA’s Cantonese service(ZH) Reporter: Bat Tzi-mo:

More than 8,000 farmers from six villages in Wuqing district of the northern port city of Tianjin have protested a massive land grab by local government amounting to around 10,000 mu (670 hectares) since 1992.

The local government has claimed it intends to build a reservoir in the nearby area, and began to requisition the land from farmers without any compensation.

Later, the farmers discovered that the land had in fact been used to develop large-scale commercial fish farms.

China: Petitioner’s leg broken in beating by authorities

In Beijing, a female petitioner has been detained and another beaten so severely that her leg was broken. Wang Guiying was detained by security personnel after she was found begging on Tiananmen Square. She had fallen on hard times after an official complaint was taking longer than expected, and she was a long way from her hometown in the northeastern city of Dandong. As they took her away from the scene, the officers began shouting at her and cursing her for damaging China’s image by begging at such a landmark of China’s national identity. They set upon her with fists and feet, and Wang ended up with a broken leg.

China’s online air pollution map

An online, interactive, non-government map which shows the worst atmospheric polluters in China. These include 40 multinational companies. This story has been picked up all over the domestic Chinese media. The following extract is from the China Daily:

Forty multinationals are among some 4,000 firms on an air pollution blacklist released Thursday.

Top companies such as Michelin China, Sina-Mars Group APP in China, the joint ventures of Toyota and Ford

Three arrested as riot police stationed in Dongzhou

Authorities in the southern port city of Shanwei have drafted large numbers of security forces to Dongzhou township and detained three local residents during police raids where tear gas was used. An eight month-old baby was taken to hospital.

Lin Jingeng and Wei Chun have been formally arrested for causing disturbances and damage to property. Wei’s husband You Zizhu was also detained, but it was unclear if he would also be charged. More than 100 police officers remained in the township late on Wednesday, villagers told RFA’s Mandarin and Cantonese services.

China: Police raid Bible meeting, detain 270

“They divided us into pairs and handcuffed us all together with our partner and marched us off to the police station for questioning. Some of the congregation were beaten during our detention, during questioning. Others were frequently subjected to mental torture,” he said.

Each person was told they had to pay 300 yuan for their living expenses during their 15-day detention period. The police then refused to give back any of the money when many of the detainees were released after 2-3 days, he said.

— participant in a Bible study meeting of house church pastors in Shandong, eastern China

China: Guangxi riots over girl’s beating

Lan Yuanxian, a 16 year-old migrant worker from Anhui, was beaten up by two or three officials from the municipal management bureau of the Guilin city government, she told RFA’s Cantonese service(ZH) from her hospital bed.

The incident began outside the Ximen vegetable market in the Xiangshan district of the city when a truck wanted to make a delivery of oil to a shop there. Lan’s bicycle was parked in the way for about five minutes, for which local city management officials tried to fine her 50 yuan. Lan protested and argued with them, and was beaten up. Another woman was beaten with truncheons when she tried to stop them.

The incident sparked protests in which more than 1,000 people encircled the city officials’ cars, refusing to leave. More than 50 riot police were called in to disperse the crowd, which took about two hours.

China: Two years on from Dongzhou

Thursday was the second anniversary of the crackdown in Dongzhou, a key event in the history of China’s civil rights movement.

On Dec. 6, 2005, paramilitary forces shot and killed at least three people protesting what they said was inadequate compensation for land used to build a power station.

Official media reported that three people had died, saying that police fired “in alarm” after being pelted with home-made explosives.

Mr Huang said: “We took some candles there for an offering. There were a lot of people there; relatives and local people. When I was there there were about 100 people. Today is the second anniversary of Dec. 6. The local people are commemorating the bloodshed at the place where the government opened fire and killed people.”

China: Legal Day protest ends in clashes

UPDATE:  Thousands of petitioners who gathered outside China’s state television (CCTV) headquarters in Beijing were dispersed by police. The photo–given to RFA by a ‘volunteer’–shows this protest.

More in Chinese: 普法日数千访民央视请愿　警察暴力阻截并阻挠外媒采访 

Just over 100 petitioners gathered in the trees lining a Beijing crossroads Monday to “speak about injustice”. About a dozen foreign journalists turned up to cover the event. Protester Chen Yingcai said the event was to highlight the beatings, detentions and even labor camp sentences routinely suffered by anyone in China trying to pursue an official grievance.