Shanwei: Harassment Follows the Slaughter

On January 1, 2006, when all Chinese wanted to wish everyone happiness on the first day of a new year, the villagers of Dongzhou Village, Shanwei faced another disaster on top of the December 6 shooting incident.

The Shanwei government gave the following notice on December 29: “Due to the new Shanwei power plant, the related department announces that gravesites within 50 meters of utility towers must be moved within seven days, otherwise the government will forcibly relocate said graves. Villagers should register with the village committee and move the graves themselves. If the deadline passes, the graves will be considered to be abandoned.” That means that villagers have seven days to move 90 percent of their ancestral graves.

Meanwhile, villagers are still being arrested every day. The authorities arranged for informants to intercept villagers' phone calls. The villagers in Dongzhou asked The Epoch Times to tell the descendants of Dongzhou all over the world: “We apologise to our ancestors! But under the threat of guns, we have no other choice.”

The New Power Plant Disturbs the Peace of Our Ancestors

There are many electrical transmission towers all around Dongzhou Village. The government notice requires that about 90 percent of the graves must be moved, but it did not authorize another site for the graves. How will the villagers know where to move the graves in such a short time? People are concerned about how their ancestors will have peace.

The villagers are discussing two things. One is that they don't understand why there can't be graves within 50 meters of a utility tower. The other is that a burial usually costs 30,000 yuan (US$ 3,623) and it costs between 10,000 and 20,000 yuan (US$1,208 to $2,415) to prepare a grave. The Communist regime will not provide any compensation. What about the expenses? If the villagers don't do it themselves, the regime will excavate the graves. The unfairness of the situation is obvious.

The Dongzhou villagers told The Epoch Times that ever since the Shanwei government murdered seventy villagers on December 6, their demands for land and lakes have spiraled out of control. Since it has aopparently gotten away with massacring villagers, the Shanwei government seems to be drunk with the power of the threat of violence. Government officials who want to seize land might offer a little compensation. If the property owner disagrees with their appraisal, they will give him nothing; if he argues further, the property owner will be jailed. Villagers live under the threat of guns everyday.

Villagers: “The Authorities Arrest People Every Day. Don't Come Back if You Have Escaped!”

On December 28, 2005, Huang Xianzhi and Huang Xianyu, two villagers from Donger Village, were persuaded by their relatives to surrender to the police. The Communist regime said that if they surrendered themselves before December 30, the charges against them would be dropped; otherwise, they would be arrested. Many villagers went to the police station that day, but were sent away to the city's Police Criminal Security Bureau for interrogation. They still haven't been released.

On December 29, 38-year-old Lu Muwen from Donger Village was also deceived by the government in the same way and sent to the city's Security Bureau for interrogation. The police said that he had to confess that he had made explosives; otherwise they would not release him. Dongyi resident Lin Hanzhen, 45 years old, was forced to confess that he had gone to the power plant to participate in the riot. When he refused, he was beaten by the police.

The villagers who were released from the police station said that they had all had their pictures taken. Their bail bonds stated, “Awaiting trial.” The villagers said these people were classified as level B criminals by the police.

In an effort to discover the whereabouts of missing Dongsan Village representatives Huang Muyou and Lin Hanru, police have forcibly broken into two people's homes.

The villagers asked reporters to broadcast to Dongzou's villagers who have escaped: “Don't come back. Dongzou is not part of China anymore. Every villager who lives in Dongzou and still has humanity wants to leave here. It is simply lawless here.”

Policeman Pretends to be a Journalist to Arrest Villagers, Local Officials Accompany CCTV Journalist on Interviews

On December 29, 63-year-old Wei Xuanzhou from Dongyi village was arrested at his house by police escorted by village officials. Other villagers were told that, between December 27 and 28, local police pretended to be journalists in order to have telephone interviews with villagers. Wei Xuanzhou believed the charade and told them that he had collected many fired “64-91-97” rifle shells, which are evidence of the December 6 shooting incident. He was immediately arrested. Many villagers dare not speak on the telephone and everyone lives in constant fear.

On December 26, many people called, claiming to be China Central TV (CCTV) journalists. One of them even claimed to be a Beijing University journalist. The Shanwei local government arranged for village officials to escort journalists to visit villagers' homes. Whichever home they visited, nobody dared to speak the truth, and most villagers just remained silent. It was obvious that local officials and police were behind this ploy. Whoever spoke out about the government's crimes would be arrested after the journalists left.

Villagers asked The Epoch Times to inform all legitimate journalists that they are very grateful for their efforts; it is not that the villagers do not want to tell them the truth, it is because the officials are so inhuman. They hope journalists will continue to pay attention to them, because now, nobody (in government) cares about Dongzhou's people.

Currently, there are banners hanging all over the streets in Dongzhou village. Villagers also received many flyers asking them to hand in any dangerous weapons hidden in their homes. Villagers told Epoch Times reporters that the message on the banners praises the government, in an attempt to brainwash the villagers.

Large Reward for Village Spy, The Circumstances Surrounding the Power Station are Not Simple

Huang Youmu, a villager from Dongsan village, was respected by other villagers as a fair and righteous person and was elected as a representativeto defend their land compensation rights. After the December 6 shooting incident, the authorities could not locate him. They are now offering a 30,000 yuan (approximately US$3,600) reward for his arrest. The authorities have also posted a reward of 500 yuan (approximately US$60) per month to villagers who act as informants. Because of the reward, many villagers who secretly come back to visit their families have been arrested. All the villagers are outraged by this; they say that if they discover who the spy is, they won't let that person go.

One villager said, “Because of the greedy nature of people, they will become a spy to receive a reward, and might even become a party member. I feel it is very dark here; if a spy is among us, he will know every move we make. If we knew who the spy was, we would definitely not let him or her go.”

One villager also told a journalist that one village representative named Wu Xia had no choice but to leave home. Because he was divorced, he left three children alone at home. The eldest is only 12; the children have had to rely on other villagers for support. In another incident, a father lost his sanity because the authorities forced him to make up a statement that his son had died by “blowing himself up” instead of telling how the soldiers had gunned him down in the street (please see Shanwei: Father Pleads Guilty For Son, Arrested Villagers Tortured ); the father has been put under house arrest by the authorities.

Rumors have recently been circulating among villagers that the real reason the central government has spent so much effort in suppressing Dongzhou is not just because of the local Shanwei government's 10 percent ownership of the power plant. Guangdong Province Governor Huang Huahua's brother has a share in the power station, and the daughter of China's former Premier Li Peng's daughter was also a major shareholder. The total investment in the power plant is as high as 37 billion yuan (approximately US$4.5 billion).

Villagers say that the authorities would sacrifice all of the villagers' lives for the money. “We do not hold out any hope at this time, we'll just wait and see what they do next! All the villagers are now living outside their homes, please remember the things happening daily in Dongzhou…”

Related articles:
Massacre in China Draws Global Attention
Shanwei: Father Pleads Guilty For Son, Arrested Villagers Tortured
After Massacre Terror Continues in Chinese Village
Shanwei Shootings: Photos from Shanwei
Shanwei Shooting: Photo Gallery
Bloody Suppression of Farmers in Shanwei; 70 People Shot to Death by Police
Chinese Police Shoot Villagers, 33 Dead, Over 20 Missing

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