I was wrong. I thought the New Year's holiday would mean fewer public protests and demonstrations. But I just learned of the violence in Panlong, a village in Guangdong province near the city of Zhongshan, in which local people were protesting unfair land seizures and police responded with force. EastSouthWestNorth is, as usual, all over the story with various links and translations (he is referring to it as "The Zhongshan Incident"). It just popped up on the front of the NYT webpage. Here is the lead from that story:
A week of protests by villagers in China's southern industrial heartland exploded into violence over the weekend with thousands of police officers brandishing automatic weapons and using electric batons to put down the rally , residents of the village said today.
As many as 60 people were injured, residents of Panlong village said, and at least one person, a 13-year-old girl, had been killed by security forces, they said. The police denied any responsibility, saying that the girl had died of a heart attack.
A 13-year-old dying of a heart attack? How long before the Propaganda Department comes up with a new spin on that one?
There are, of course, variations due to local circumstances, but the general pattern of government takings of land or resources sparking popular discontent and protest, which is then put down by force by the state, is becoming numbingly familiar. If things keep up like this it could be a very sad Year of the Dog.
At the very least, you would think that the government would try not to let things explode during the holiday. Let me ask my friends out there with more experience in Chinese traditions than me: isn't it bad luck for things like this to happen at New Year's? Aren't we supposed to pay our debts to begin the new season? Shouldn't the government pay its debts, too?
UPDATE: The Peking Duck also notices the incongruity of a 13 year-old's "heart attack."
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