Complied by Caijing Staff

From Caijing Online

Illegal land appropriation again provokes the wrath of the people. On December 12, 300 villagers gathered in front of government buildings in Geshan town in Zhangshu city, Jiangxi province, demanding justification for an attempted land seizure for the expansion of wine factories.

According to reports by the Central People’s Broadcasting Station, on the morning of December 12, nine trucks drove onto farmland in Duqiao village and tried to begin construction. In order to protect their farmland, the villagers broke the trucks and then asked for explanations from the government. The CCTV reporter learned that the company who had sent the trucks was a well-known wine producer, Site Liquor, both a supporter and tax-payer of Zhangshu city, Jiangxi province. However, this land appropriation had not been approved. Officials from the local government said to a CCTV reporter that any land appropriation of over 35 hectares required State Council approval first. Furthermore, a second approval is required for the transfer of land from agricultural to non-agricultural use.

On the afternoon of December 12, the Zhangshu Party’s committee held an urgent meeting, and decided to postpone the land sequestration. On December 13, the Geshan government destroyed the land sequestration agreement which they had forced villagers to sign.