Villagers resist construction of waste disposal power generation plant

(BOXUN) On Sunday November 29, 2015, more than 1,000 police in the Chaoyang District of Shantou City, Guangdong Province fired tear gas and high-pressure water hoses at protesters from eleven villages in Jinzao township. Dozens of villagers were arrested, and a police car and earth excavator were burned by the villagers.

Following mass demonstrations in 2013, Jinzao Township villages Guangxi, Dongkang, altogether 11 villages and more than 10,000 people at the end of October 2015 again began resisting the construction of a large-scale waste disposal power plant in their village. Their protest is ongoing. According to the villagers, peasants in the 11 villages have been on strike for half a month, protecting their villages day and night against government invasion. Six middle and primary schools in the 11 villages have been boycotting classes for 10 days. During this time a large number of villagers who have demonstrated and posted information on the Internet have been arrested.

Villager “Blockhead” commented online: “Six middle and primary schools have been boycotting classes for 10 days. Farmers haven’t gone to the fields to work for more than half a month. They’re standing guard day and night to prevent the township government invading the village. This conflict has been going on for two years. Until now no media has reported accurately on this issue.

On the evening of Saturday November 28, after the villagers received a warning that the police were about to enter their village, they carried sticks and farm tools and blocked the roadways. This lasted until 7 a.m. Sunday November 29, when more than 1,000 police forcibly entered the village and engaged in a violent conflict with the villagers. Dozens of villagers were arrested, and a police vehicle and earth excavator were burned. The police were temporarily beaten back by the villagers.

Villager “Secret Agent” commented online: “Last night they began to harass the people. Before 7 a.m. today they sprayed the 11 villages with tear gas. Mama said that her face was hot, she couldn’t open her eyes and she kept coughing….”

Photographs show villagers carrying gas pipes blocking village roads. A large number of police using armored police vehicles forcibly entered the village. Everywhere there was thick smoke from the police firing tear gas. There were empty cartridge cases everywhere. A police vehicle transporting a water cannon was burned.

A villager commented online: “Today 1,000 riot police forcibly entered our village. A SWAT vehicle was burned by the village defenders and the riot police withdrew. It’s not stubborn resistance but protecting our homes. If the waste disposal power generating plant is built, our home will be ruined and the people will die. We’re not terrorists, we’re just average farmers being forced into this action.”

The villagers’ protest was still in progress on the evening of Sunday November 29, 2015. All the roads into the village were blocked by the police. Most of the information the villagers had posted to the Internet had been deleted.

To resist the Shantou government constructing a large-scale waste disposal power generation plant in Jinzao Township’s Guangxi Village, more than 10,000 villagers from 11 villages in Jinzao began protesting from the end of December 2013.

http://boxun.com/news/gb/china/2015/11/201511300333.shtml