December 19 marks the second week since the Dongzhou Town massacre. Fourteen continuous days of arm-twisting blockades and searching for and arresting of “illegal elements” have exhausted the locals mentally and physically.
On December 18, the father of deceased resident Jiang Guangge was coerced into signing a government document admitting that his son had died from “blowing himself up.” Meanwhile, Wei Jin’s mother has been kneeling by the roadside since her son’s death, crying in grief and appealing for justice. In addition, it is reported that the arrested villagers suffer severe torture at the hands of the authorities.
On the same day, construction resumed on the Shanwei power plant, causing the women of the village to surround and blockade the plant in protest.
A Mother Wants Justice for Her Son
The young man in the photograph is Wei Jin, who lost his life the night of the December 6 Dongzhou massacre. His mother still makes a daily trek to a road near the village and kneels in protest for her son. “My son death is an injustice; what crime has he committed?” She has cried so hard that she is drained of strength and sits exhausted on the road.
Every day the government has quickly sent public security officials and police to haul the mother back home. Around 10:30 a.m. on December 19, while officials were removing the lady, they encountered resistance from her family members. Both sides refused to compromise. The number of onlookers grew so large that the reporter was able to take this picture while amid the crowd. (Note: Dongzhou is under official news blockade, and reporters risk their lives to take photos and publish stories.)
