Villagers protest seizing their land, “occupy” high-speed rail line

In Mazha Village, Puning City, Guangdong Province, more than 150 acres of land has been forcibly expropriated and compensation for it illegally embezzled. Mazha villagers have been protesting for a year, and have demonstrated many times. On Thursday March 26, 2015, villagers attacked and destroyed a business enterprise operating on the confiscated land. On the afternoon of Thursday April 2, 2015, more than 1,000 police stormed the village and detained four protesting villagers. This made thousands of villagers furious and that night they surrounded the Puning high-speed rail station and demanded that the government release the prisoners. A group of villagers collectively stormed the railway platform and blocked the tracks.

The villagers were subsequently surrounded by thousands of police. Some villagers have already been injured and detained. The police have utilized helicopters and fired dozens of tear gas canisters. Eyewitnesses state that from Puning’s high-speed railway area there is the unceasing sound of gunfire and accompanying fires.

The Puning city government’s official website on Friday April 3, 2015 issued an announcement: As of noon Friday April 3, 2015, a total of 22 people had been arrested. Illegal weapons including iron pipes had been seized. In the process of arresting people and seizing weapons there were no casualties.