The Federalist: Chinese demand return of land illegally seized by Communist Party

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Chinese demand return of land illegally seized by Communist Party

Residents protest outside the city government building in Lufeng, China, to demand the return of land they say was illegally seized. (Photograph: Reuters)

Still no property rights under Communism.

Thousands march to denounce corrupt officials and factory strikes spread as sluggish demand hits workers' pay.

The great circle of life - The Communists steal the land from its owners and "give" it to the peasants to farm. Then they steal the land from those farmers and give it back to the "evil" business owners in corrupt deals.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Thousands of villagers angry that officials failed to address their grievances after riots two months ago marched to a government office in southern China to demand the return of land they say was illegally seized, witnesses and media said.

The protest came after a series of strikes in factories in Guangdong province, China's economic powerhouse.

Rural land disputes are increasing and spreading to the undeveloped west of the country, according to a poll published in October in a magazine run by Xinhua news agency.

One witness identifying himself by his surname Yang said by phone that 4,000 villagers and farmers from Wukan surrounded government offices in Lufeng City on Monday. The protesters denounced local officials as greedy and corrupt. They dispersed after an hour without incident reports the UK Guardian.

A villager surnamed Zhang, who sent photographs of the protest to Reuters, said authorities had failed to tackle collusion between developers and local officials. No progress had been made in renegotiating inequitable land deals back to 1998.

The Chinese Communist Party says the farmers are so happy under their rule . . . even
when their land is stolen away from them by corrupt party hacks.

"They have done nothing for us. They lied," Zhang said by phone from Wukan.

Residents of Lufeng ransacked government offices two months ago over the same issue.

There are also reports of a round of industrial disputes over pay and benefits in export hubs such as Guangdong, as overseas demand for Chinese goods weakens amid a sluggish western economy.

Hong Kong's Sing Tao Daily said on Tuesday at least 500 female workers at a bra factory in Shenzhen had protested in the past few days about overtime pay.

Thousands of workers at a factory in Dongguan city, Guangdong, manufacturing shoes for brands including New Balance, Nike and Adidas went on strike last week over wage cuts and redundancies, Ming Pao Daily reported.

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Commissioned as captain in the 1st South Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army. After seeing much action, he became an aide-de-camp to General Horatio Gates. He was captured by the British at the disastrous Battle of Camden in 1780. After recovering from his wounds, he was released in a prisoner exchange. In 1781 he fought under Lafayette in Virginia. Appointed by President George Washington to be the U.S. minister to Great Britain served as Envoy Extraordinary to Spain. The Federalist Party made him a candidate in the 1796 presidential election as the intended running-mate of John Adams. Served as Congressman and Governor of South Carolina. Served as a major general in the Army during the War of 1812.

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David Cobb, Federalist

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Josiah Parker, Federalist

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