Neighbours of Chinese village protesting over land grabs are involved in similar disputes

Residents of villages near Wukan in southern Guangdong province say they are involved in land disputes similar to their neighbour’s, but are not being heard because they lack financial support and competent leadership.

Liu Yongjiang, a resident of Xialongtan about 5km from Wukan, said officials in his village had made 200 million yuan (HK$236 million) by selling communal land, a hotel and two other properties that belonged to villagers.

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Xialongtan’s case was similar to the unresolved land seizures that brought thousands of villagers in Wukan onto the streets on Sunday. Wukan’s dispute has festered for five years since the village last protested and the latest demonstrations have been met with the detention of Wukan’s village chief Lin Zuluan on allegations of bribery.

Liu said Xialongtan village residents were also involved in long-standing land disputes, but their momentum was lost three years ago when one of their petition leaders was jailed for causing disturbance.

He said people in Wukan could demonstrate because they were under less financial pressure than his village. He said Wukan residents were poor years ago, but some had gone to Hong Kong to make a living and provide financial support to their village.

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“With the money, the basic living costs could be secured in case something adverse happened to fellow villagers involved in demonstrations,” said Liu. “Residents become bold and united when they have nothing to worry about.”