On July 27, Zhang Shiying, a villager from Xinguan Village, Suizhou City in Hubei Province, jumped from a building to protest the local authorities’ policy of forced demolition. [ Editor’s Note: The Chinese government frequently seizes people’s homes, offers compensation of only a fraction of the market value, and demolishes the homes to clear the land for sale for the construction of office buildings or other high-profit ventures. ]
Zhang’s son-in-law, He Shihai, told The Epoch Times on July 28, “Our mother is very brave. She gave her life to protect her children’s legal rights and to protest the mafia-like local authorities. Our relatives, friends and family are very sad and angry.”
According to He Shihai, it was his house that this late mother-in-law was trying to protect. He Shihai said that the local government planning department recently announced his house to be an illegal construction, though earlier the authorities had issued him a permit to build the house. Mr. He’s family is far from alone in their suffering. More than 140 previously permitted buildings in the area were later announced to be illegal.
