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Farmers forced from land to make way for stadium


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BEIJING (Reuters) - Hundreds of Chinese farmers protested in a Beijing suburb on Thursday after being forced from their property to make way for an Olympic stadium, the latest in a wave of land disputes in China.

Makeshift signs reading "Support the Olympics, resettle the farmers who have lost their land!" were strung up alongside a wide green-and-white banner proclaiming the site for the stadium and watersports complex for the 2008 Beijing Games.

Beyond it lay green fields the farmers of Maxingzhuang village say was their land before it was appropriated without compensation or resettlement being offered.

"Why are these people all waiting here?" said 36-year-old Ma Aihua, gesturing at the hundreds of farmers camped out on the road. "We are waiting for the government to respond."

China's Communist leadership frowns on displays of dissent, but popular protests against land seizures are becoming increasingly common as the country's breakneck development encroaches further into the countryside.

On Saturday, six villagers were killed and 28 injured when hired thugs attacked farmers fighting to keep their land in northern Hebei province, domestic media reported.

The skirmish was caught on video, footage from which shows men armed with pipes and shovels pummelling farmers as what sound like gunshots go off in the background.

The three-week-old protests at Maxingzhuang, a village of 2,300 people where most farmers grow corn and wheat, have not turned violent, but locals are getting restless.

"We have been here 23 days and the government hasn't responded to our concerns," Li Shiguo, 36, said.

The disputed land is the site for the Shunyi Olympic Aquatic Park, the venue for the rowing and canoeing competitions.

The park is one of 14 new, ultra-modern venues Beijing plans to build for the Games with a construction budget of at least $2 billion.

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If it's not the Great Dam, it's the Olympics!  Damn.  Remove the Games from Beijing and give them to Paris if they are ready for '08!!

What about Toronto?  :D

well no, it wouldn't be good for my horse, NYC, if it went to Torinto.

Oh  :(  I just offered because it got second place in the voting. At the time I actually liked Beijing better, but with all of this property hubbub I'm not so sure.

Good luck with that New York thing. I wish the best even though the bid is now the Olympic equivalent of Smarty Jones.  :D

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Just for your information, several months ago China has just passed a new "law on protest" which allow local people to protest the government in peaceful ways. In fact it's a drawback after too many unstoppable (originally illegal) protests in the nation. As the government can't really stop them, the government legalized it so that protests can be held in an acceptable ways. The law also forced related government departments to respond to the protest requises within limited time. If their requires kept unsloved, the poeple can protest to even higher government level which may make local officers being published by the central government as they fall to slove problem. So it's not suprised to see many protests now can be reported by media relatively openly.
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Just for your information, several months ago China has just passed a new "law on protest" which allow local people to protest the government in peaceful ways.

That may be the case, but there is a great chasm between allowing protest and sending the local heavies round to suppress it, as I saw on my television screen earlier this week.

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Just for your information, several months ago China has just passed a new "law on protest" which allow local people to protest the government in peaceful ways. In fact it's a drawback after too many unstoppable (originally illegal) protests in the nation. As the government can't really stop them, the government legalized it so that protests can be held in an acceptable ways. The law also forced related government departments to respond to the protest requises within limited time. If their requires kept unsloved, the poeple can protest to even higher government level which may make local officers being published by the central government as they fall to slove problem. So it's not suprised to see many protests now can be reported by media relatively openly.

Well, it didn't do much with the violent suppression thing. I'll judge your attempt to save face for China like Paula Abdul.

"You went in there and gave it your all! You're positive and charismatic, and people love that. Although this wasn't your best you have a good personality and that's what we like to see. Good job!"

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I'm just trying to provide a background of the incident, not to rationalizing it. I know far more ugly things in mainland China and I'm always supporting any practical actions to improve it, besides of sitting in front of the TV commenting it like a boss. If you think I'm trying to save face rather then giving an opinion from another POV, it's up to u.
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I'm just trying to provide a background of the incident, not to rationalizing it. I know far more ugly things in mainland China and I'm always supporting any practical actions to improve it, besides of sitting in front of the TV commenting it like a boss. If you think I'm trying to save face rather then giving an opinion from another POV, it's up to u.

Well, all the talk about the government making efforts to allow protest sounded like rationalizing to me. I could be missing your tone.

Oh well. People can tell jokes in the Chinese language and it can sound like a heated argument.  :)

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Not to be idiotic here, but what about that incident last week near Beijing between those farmers and those "power company employees?"
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the pictures that i saw on the news were very disturbing and it makes one wonder where else in china events like this are occuring??

I'm even more surprised that Beijing officials isn't saying about them to "counter" these "allegations."

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the pictures that i saw on the news were very disturbing and it makes one wonder where else in china events like this are occuring??

I'm even more surprised that Beijing officials isn't saying about them to "counter" these "allegations."

They're using the fingers in ears "LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!" method.

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