Police attack village at 3 a.m., arrest 73 for protesting

Boyao Village, Ertang Township, Wuxuan County, Laibing City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region: After years of protests by villagers against land seizures for a state-owned enterprise,  500 police officers in a line of cars 2 kilometers long entered the village at 3 a.m. and rousted residents with tear gas, pepper spray, smoke bombs, pellet guns,  batons, combat flashlights, shields and other weapons.

Boyao villagers said more than 10,000 mu (.0667 hectares) of land has been occupied for decades by a state-owned enterprise called Six Peak Mountain Forest, and they’ve been protesting since the 1980s. More than 100 villagers have been arrested, sentenced and imprisoned. In 2013, Zhengda Group decided to settle in Six Peak Mountain Forest to set up a stud animal breeding operation. Because part of the project is on land confiscated from Boyao village, the villagers again protested, several times preventing work and destroying vehicles. They also traveled to the provincial capital of Nanning to demand their rights, with no result.

On Tuesday,  Oct.  28, 2014, Wuchang County government workers, police, riot police, and people of unknown origins (approximately 500 people) attacked the village without warning and began beating people. Thirteen were arrested and many were injured.

On the same morning, villagers went to the Wuchang County government headquarters to protest the attack and demand release of imprisoned villagers. They were beaten by police and 60 villagers were arrested.

http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2014/10/201410291902.shtml