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On 16th January 2017, Shanwei intermediate people’s court in Guangdong province gave a final verdict on the trial which involves the protests staged last year in Wukan village, Lufeng city. Nine defendants including Wei Yonghan and Zhang Bingchai were accused of disrupting public order, inciting illegal assemblies, staging protests, obstructing traffic, disrupting businesses and intentionally spreading false information. After the hearing, Shanwei intermediate people’s court upheld the ruling by the Haifeng county people’s court. Wei Yonghan, Zhang Bingchai and six other defendants had their original sentences upheld, and were sentenced to imprisonment between two to ten years. Wu Fang, Zhuang Songkun and Cai Jia Lin showed repentance during the second trial, and thus had their sentences reduced to 4 years and 6 months, 3 years and 6 months and 3 years respectively. The first public hearing took place at Haifeng county people’s court on December 26th 2016, and the nine defendants were handed prison sentences ranging between 2 to 10 years. Eleven others involved in the case were acquitted of all charges due to the less serious nature of their crimes. In 19th June 2016, Wei Yonghan, Zhang Bingchai and head of the village committee, Lin Zulian were arrested. All 3 were accused of citing land disputes as an excuse to disrupt public order, incite illegal assemblies, stage protests, obstruct traffic, disrupt businesses and intentionally spread false information. The protests lasted for 84 days, causing disruptions to the daily lives of over 10,000 villagers, and resulting in an economic loss of more than 15 million RMB. On September 13th 2016, local police arrested over 20 key suspects, including Wei Yonghan, Hong Yongzhong and Yang Jinzhen. This enabled local life in Wukan to be restored to normality. Back in 2011, villagers in Wukan staged large-scale rallies to show their dissatisfaction with how local officials’ handled land and financial issues. After the re-election of the village committee, Lin Zulian came to power. However, suspicions of corruption were rife, and in June 17th 2016 coercive measures were taken and Lin was under formal investigation by local authorities. Following hearings on September 8th and October 12th 2016, Lin was officially charged with bribery and bribery of a non-state personnel; he was sentenced to 3 years and 1 month’s imprisonment and fined 200,000 RMB. The reporter has learned that social and economic development in Wukan is now on track. Local officials have registered ownership of land in accordance with the law, new implementations are being finalised one by one, and local elections of the village committee were held in strict accordance to existing rules and regulations. The results of the village elections are due to be announced after Chinese New Year. |
