Zhong Rujiu is the youngest daughter in a family of nine children. The Zhong’s three-story home is located in a suburb of Fenggang Township in Yihuang County, Fuzhou City. Their neighborhood was reallocated for the construction of a railway station in 2007. Since then the demolition of homes and eviction of residents have caused numerous disputes between residents and county officials.
Despite continuous harassment and threats by Yihuang County officials that the family would be evicted by force if they could not reach an agreement, the Zhongs resisted vacating their home even though electricity and water have been cut off since May of 2010.
A neighbor, Pan Junbin, another Yihuan resident whose house was also facing forced demolition told Century Weekly what he witnessed on the morning of Sept. 10 outside the Zhong family residence. He said county officials and a group of over 100 people, including police, and a demolition team, came to the Zhong’s home and tried to force them off their property. He also saw a bulldozer and a red fire engine parked near. In a desperate effort to resist eviction, three family members set themselves on fire, including mother Luo Zhifeng, daughter Zhong Ruqin, and 79-year uncle Ye Zhongcheng.
Ms. Luo, after having set herself on fire, then jumped off the roof of their house. A photo of her burning body falling down was widely circulated by Chinese media and on Internet blogs.
The witness, Mr. Pan, said after the three people set themselves on fire, instead of saving them, the forced demolition team and police simply stood by and watched. They even stopped the family members from helping them.
Subsequently, the three burn victims were taken to hospital and treated in intensive care. However, Mr. Ye died on Sept. 18.
Refuge in an Airport Restroom
On Sept. 16, the two Zhong sisters, Rujiu and Rucui, decided to go to Beijing and take their family’s case to the central government’s petition office. But they did not get far. The local Yihuang County Party Chief, Qiu Jianguo, with a group of more than 40 people, intercepted them at the Nanchang Changbei International Airport.
When the two young women found they were surrounded and about to be seized, they got on their knees and pleaded with airport security and passengers for help. The airport security suggested they go to a police station with the officials, but the sisters refused. Instead they requested to use the lady’s room.
Once locked inside the restroom, Ms. Rujiu used her cell phone to call a Southern Metropolis Daily’s journalist for help.
The story, “Ordeal in an airport lady’s room,” was posted live on microblog by a Phoenix Weekly’s journalist along with the phone numbers of several officials who tried to stop the sisters from going to Beijing.
Soon massive numbers of text messages and phone calls reached Yihuang County officials.
Forty minutes later the two sisters agreed to come out of the restroom after they were sure that reporters had arrived on the scene.
Restrained by the reporters’ presence, the Yihuang officials acted more politely, and the Deputy Mayor of Yihuang County explained to the Zhang sisters why they had to capture them:
“When National Day is approaching, all local governments have to monitor suspicious people and petitioners in their areas and stop them from going to Beijing to appeal,” he said.
“Intercepting petitioners is a required mission. I’m sure you are all aware of it. There’s nothing we can do about it anyway,” he added.
Accompanied by reporters, the two sisters were able to leave the airport unharmed.
The following day, Sept. 17, Rujiu posted a message on her microblog, thanking her growing number of Internet friends. “I am very grateful for your online support,” she said.
Fighting Over a Dead Body
More local government harassment followed the Zhong family, and Ms. Rujiu kept informing people about it in her microblogs.
In the early morning hours of Sept. 18, after Ye Zhongcheng, the uncle who had set himself on fire, was pronounced dead, the head of Yihuang County government along with about 80 helpers came to the hospital to confiscate the body. Members of the Zhong family who were at the hospital were dismayed and angered. A fight over the uncle’s body broke out, and two more Zhong family members were injured. (Editor’s note: It has been reported that officials try to quickly cremate a deceased person’s body to dispose of any possible evidence in case of a law suit.)
Later in the morning, Ms. Rujiu and four other family members were visiting the hospital in Nanchang City where her mother and sister were being treated for their burn injuries. Suddenly several dozen people surrounded them, took away their cell phones, drove them back to Yihuang County, and locked them up in a hotel room where the Yihuang County Party chief, Qiu Jiangquo, had a “talk” with them. The Party chief, who at that time was already under investigation by the Fuzhou City government regarding the self-immolation cases, told them to not turn this thing into something big.
Around 4 p.m. Ms. Rujiu’s microblog was updated by her brother. Again, a flood of messages and phones calls by outraged citizens inundated Yihuang County government officials.
By 10 p.m. the kidnapped Zhong family members were released and went home, apparantly by orders of the Deputy Mayor of Fuzhou City who also came to see them at the hotel.
Shortly thereafter, Ms. Rujiu’s online supporters were relieved to find the microblog once again updated by her.
Corruption
Forced evictions, land grabs, and harassment by corrupt government officials are commonplace in China. Chinese citizens are generally helpless in the face of the widespread abuse of governmental powers. Thousands of petitioners have unsuccessfully tried for years to get justice through appeals to the central government. Some victims of forced eviction have used self-immolation and the threat of other forms of suicide to protest officials’ taking their homes away. On Nov. 13, 2009 a Chinese woman by the name of Tang Fuzhen also set herself on fire to protest forced demolition. Tang died on Nov. 19, 2009.
Local communist government officials have long been known for their corruption. But years of one-party rule with a twist of communist ideology have corrupted the values of the populace, from the top down. With no social safety net, a cut-throat market place, a Party-controlled judicial system, and near complete media censorship, Chinese people are subject to exploitation and abuse of many kinds.
Corruption, taking bribes, and unethical and criminal deals are rampant. China’s social, environmental, and medical systems are in a state of severe under-funding and collapse. Officials at every level use their positions to enrich themselves. Land seizure for luxury or urban redevelopment projects, with little or no compensation to the dispossessed, is one way they can become rich.
Although China has laws that look similar to those of other countries, the judicial system is also corrupt, and laws are applied “as needed.” Local officials that get caught can escape punishments if they cover their tracks, and if higher-ups are not implicated and embarrassed.
Forcing people off their properties without fair compensation is not legal, but widely practiced. But if during the process of forced eviction things get too out of control—such as in the case of the three Zhong family members setting themselves on fire—and brings widespread public attention, the pressure to punish an official also becomes great. In that case, somebody has to be sacrificed for the public to be satisfied, and that’s what local officials worry about. As a result, they strive to block the information from getting to the public or to the central government in Beijing.
Microblogs
On Sept. 20, the Yihuang County authorities issued a statement through Xinhua News Agency claiming that they had the legal documents to demolish the Zhong’s house by force, and no illegal activity was ever conducted on Sept. 10. They also claimed that they were there to “persuade” the Zhong family into cooperating with authorities, and that they were not responsible for the self-immolation of the three people or for Mr. Ye’s death.
Though the Zhong family’s problems remain unresolved, Ms. Rujiu quickly realized that exposing social injustice on the Internet is far more effective than petitioning in getting public attention and at least partial results from local officials. Although Ms. Rujiu’s microblog on sina.com.cn kept being deleted, the story stayed alive thanks to millions of online followers who forwarded her posts to thousands of websites.
Ms. Rujiu’s new microblog on qq.com has attracted the attention of tens of millions of Chinese according to many Chinese media. At least three major media, including two state-run media, have also published editorials criticizing Yihuang officials for abusing their power. Eight Yihuang County officials have been placed under investigation, and four of them were removed from their posts.
Chinese commentator and columnist Tong Dahuan, said on his blog, “People’s lives are not at all important to a government official, for you might lose your job if you fail to accomplish a forced-demolition order.
“But the present victory is still worth celebrating, and worth making the effort... Actions won’t necessarily generate results, but inaction definitely will not generate any results.”
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said recently that Chinese authorities have begun a massive clamp down on social media on the mainland, particularly microblogs. RSF says the latest censorship attempt is further indication of the CCP’s mistrust and obsessive control of Chinese people, but suggests that this control is already undermined by the scale of Internet use in China.
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