Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Taishi: The Perception of Democracy Crushed Under Reality’s Boot

The News of the Day can be found here.

The events of the past few months in village of Taishi (Guangdong Province) have wiped out the stream of Communist lies about “village elections.” What began as a ruse to fool the Chinese people and the Western world into thinking the Communists were amenable to democracy has become yet another example of Communist deception, corruption, and brutality.

The tale of Taishi began this past summer when villagers, angry at missing public funds totaling roughly $12 million, attempted to recall their village leader, Chen Jinshen. They soon found that Chen “tried to change the records in the municipal accounting book” (Epoch Times). In response, the villagers began to guard the book itself. Meanwhile, a recall petition was launched against Chen and the village council, chosen earlier in the aforementioned “village elections.” The villagers easily acquired the minimum number of signatures to trigger a recall (Boxun).

The Communist reaction was swift. At first, it was just local cadres, who “searched in the village for the signers of the petition, forcing them to withdraw their signatures” (Epoch Times), until “several hundred villagers confronted the officials, who had to leave.” Next, the cadres “started kidnapping the campaign organizers,” and after the abductions spawned more protests, they “sent over 500 riot police armed with shields to confront the villagers.”

On September 12th, the villagers were still guarding the accounting book. On that day, the Communists in Fanyu District (of which Taishi is a part) decided to put an end to it once and for all. They sent in almost 1,000 cops to Taishi with water cannons to disperse the crowd and seize the book. The next day, Guo Feixiong, an attorney who was helping the villagers, disappeared. It was nearly two weeks before anyone knew where he was: inside a Communist prison. He remains there to this day –– and is now on a hunger strike in protest of the cadres’ brutal treatment of him.

Amazingly, despite the Communists’ emulation of Bull Connor, the determined people of Taishi held an election on the 16th, and rejected the Communists’ slate for their own candidates. Within a week the village’s choices were forced to quit due to threats from local cadres.

As word of the Communists’ open violation of their own “election law” continued to spread, a foreign reporter (Benjamin Joffe-Walt of Britain’s Guardian) decided to see the situation for himself, bringing Lu Banglie, an activist from Hubei Province, along with him. They never made it to Taishi; they were stopped on the outskirts by a Communist-inspired mob that seized upon Lu and “beat him until he was lifeless” (miraculously, Lu survived). Later, the mob ringleader joined several cadres at Joffe-Walt’s interrogation, making it abundantly clear just who inspired them.

Why would the Communists be so determined to stop this small village from following the very laws they put in place? Radio Free Asia (via Epoch Times) revealed the answer.

The truth is that a victory in Taishi would have thrown into question the legality of a whole slew of similar property deals right across the Pearl River Delta region. Because an awful lot of property there is built on illegally acquired land in which the original land-rights holders—the farmers—had not consented to these transactions. The fierce reaction by the Guangdong authorities to the Taishi campaign shows just how clearly they realize that the Taishi issue is not an isolated phenomenon.

So, once again, the need to preserve the corruption that lies at the heart of the Chinese Communist Party has trumped everything, even the best political camouflage the regime ever had.

Villagers reported a “white terror” campaign by township and district officials, who used personal and family ties, threats, banquets and a door-to-door signature campaign to derail support for Chen’s recall. They said many villagers were persuaded to abandon their campaign in return for the release of detained fellow protesters, many of whom were in their seventies and eighties.

For years, the Chinese Communist Party has basked in the glow of its vaunted “village elections” – tiny, illusory footholds for democracy used by the cadres to provide cover for their numerous crimes against political dissidents, ethnic minorities, and religious groups that refuse to let the Communists pollute their faith. Even before Taishi, the more observant among us could see through the façade, what with the arrests of genuinely popular village leaders (Epoch Times) and over half the elected councils erased by cadres unwilling to lose their power (Washington Post). However, to the casual ear, the “village elections” still sounded like the first step toward a peaceful transition to democracy. That was, of course, before, Taishi.

The Communists can no longer pull the wool over the world’s eyes. Their real priorities and objectives have been on display for all to see in Taishi: corruption, control, and protection of fellow cadres above all else. Once again, the Chinese Communist Party has, through its own brutality, proven beyond any doubt the need for its own destruction.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

To be fair, one must look at all the other impeachment proceedings and recall election in China that has turned out successfuly - laws prescribed are followed by local government, and free elections are observed without violence:

(You people can spare the "Chinese Cyberops" BS; I simply chosed to exercise critical thinking, and looked on search engings - by my own free-will.)

http://www.cncitizen.org/article.php?articleid=148

1999年

3月6日。黑龙江省哈尔滨市松北镇集乐村。罢免对象:村委主任董寿永。罢免效果:成功。4月9日。浙江省瑞安市潘岱乡白莲村。罢免对象:村委主任何光寿。罢免效­果:成功。 

(Mar6. HeiLongJian Harbin SongBei Township ZhenJiKai Villiage.
Impeachment target: Villiage committee chair DongSoYun. Outcom:
success.
Apr9. ZeJian ReiAn PanDai Area BaiLien Villiage. Impeachment target:
Villiage committee chair HeGuanSo. Outcome: Success.)

5月24日。浙江省温州市瓯海区梧蜒镇寮东村。罢免对象:村委主任。罢免效果:成功。

(May24. ZeJian WenZhou BinHai Area WuTin Township LiaoDong Villiage.
Impeachment target: Villiage committee chair. Outcome: Success.)  

8月24日。河北省城市岗上镇小丰村。罢免对象:全体村委会干部。罢免效果:失败。 11月27日。浙江省温州市鹿城区黎明乡巨一村。罢免对象:村委主任陈暖康、村委副主任郑加秀等6名村委会干部。罢免效果:成功。

(Aug24. HeBei TsenSeGanShan Township ShaoBan Villiage. Impeachment
target: entire villiage committee. Outcome: failed to pass.
Nov27. ZheJian WenZhou LuTsen Area villiage near LiMing. Impeachment
target: Villiage committee chair ZhenGiaSho and 6 other committee
members. Outcome: Success.)

(I'm sure WuaRen would be delighted to translate rest of the catalogue, covering numerous impeachment proceedings in Hebei, JianShi, Fujian, GanSu, HeNan, JianSu, Shanghai... In the next 3 years, many successful recall election occured.)

2000年

3月8日。江西省临川市荣山镇新街村。罢免对象:村委副主任吴桂明、村委会干部黎金山、吴福庆。罢免性质:非法。

5月17日。福建省武夷山市兴田镇南岭村。罢免对象:村委主任、村委委员、村经合社主任。罢免效果:成功。 

8月9日。甘肃省兰州市城关区青白石乡杨家湾村。罢免对象:村委主任杨海元。罢免效果:成功。8月15日。山东省桓台县索镇永和村。罢免对象:村委主任。罢免效­果:成功。 

8月23日。海南省琼海市大种镇云满村。罢免对象:村委主任吴毓州。罢免效果:失败。

9月29日。江苏省灌南县六塘乡二圩村。罢免对象:村委主任潘
永祥。罢免效果:成功。 

10月10日。上海市青浦工业园区(农委)胜利村。罢免对象:村委主任、村委副主任。罢免效果:成功。

10月22日。河南省新郑市和庄镇小岗王村。罢免对象:村委主任王某。罢免效果:成功。

10月27日。海南省海口市新华区滨海街道玉沙村。罢免对象:村委主任符某。罢免效果:成功。

11月10日。四川省双流县万安乡高饭店村。罢免对象:村会计兼现金出纳员漆贵发。罢免效果:未知。 

12月16日。河北省承德市宽城县?罗台乡椴木峪村。罢免对象:村委代理主任朱凤海。罢免效果:失败。

2001年  

1月8日。四川省成都市琉璃乡琉璃村。罢免对象:徐德友、罗德友等5名村民组长。罢免效果:局部成功。 

1月16日。浙江省龙游县小南海镇马坪张村。罢免对象:村委主任徐志林。罢免效果:成功。

3月19日。山西省太谷县胡村镇孟高村。罢免对象:村委主任贺如森。罢免效果:失败。

4月30日。山西省运城市临猗县角杯乡西张村。罢免对象:村委主任张宗仰。罢免性质:非法。

5月27日。安徽省蚌埠市郊区长耷乡许庄村。罢免对象:村委主任。罢免效果:失败。 

10月17日。安徽省繁昌县赤沙乡张塘村。罢免对象:村委主任江守智、村妇女主任艾晓翠、村文书张小林、村委会干部郭胜莲等全体村委会干部(4名)。罢免效果:­局部成功。

11月2日。福建省宁德市蕉城区城南镇岐头村。罢免对象:村委主任韩盛新。罢免效果:成功。

12月1日。安徽省马鞍山市慈湖乡恒兴村。罢免对象:村委主任刘锋。罢免效果:失败。

12月25日。贵州省沿河县和平镇黄板村。罢免对象:村委主任。罢免效果:成功。

2002年

1月22日。北京市通州区永顺镇西马庄村。罢免对象:全体村委会干部(5名)。罢免效果:未知。

1月26日。山东省栖霞市桃村镇桃村。罢免对象:村委主任孙祥云。罢免效果:未知。 

12月11日。黑龙江省哈尔滨市南岗区跃进乡永久村。罢免对象:村委主任连成友。罢免效果:未知。

2003年  

1月1日。陕西省西安市长安区郭杜镇岔道口村。罢免对象:以村委主任王某为首的3名村委会干部。罢免效果:未知。 

1月6日。内蒙古赤峰市松山区木头沟乡焦家营村。罢免对象:全体村委会干部。罢免效果:未知。

1月8日。山东省淄博市周村区青年路街道办事处桃园村。罢免对象:村委主任郭思忠。罢免效果:失败。 

3月20日。宁夏平罗县崇岗镇崇富村。罢免对象:村委主任、村会计、村妇女主任。罢免效果:成功。

3月27日。陕西省长安县祥峪乡东石村。罢免对象:村委主任周团结。罢免效果:未知。

3月31日。甘肃省兰州市西固区河口乡大滩村。罢免对象:全体村委会干部。罢免效果:未知。
 
5月16日。内蒙古某市某区某乡包尔图村。罢免对象:村委主任。罢免效果:成功。 

6月4日。山西省长治县苏店镇郝店村。罢免对象:村委主任张根长。罢免效果:成功。 

6月10日。黑龙江省哈尔滨市动力区朝阳镇新立村。罢免对象:村委会出纳干部王胜春。罢免效果:成功。 

6月19日。陕西省西安市碑林区祭台村。罢免对象:村委主任王正民。罢免效果:成功。

7月6日。山东省惠民县惠民镇大袁庄村。罢免对象:村委主任袁某。罢免效果:成功。 

7月22日。浙江省温州市鹿城区城郊乡水心村。罢免对象:4名村委会干部。罢免效果:成功。 

9月9日。云南省元阳县小新街乡大拉卡村。罢免对象:村委主任李忠学。罢免效果:成功。

9月13日。江苏省无锡市广益镇毛岸村。罢免对象:全体村委会干部。罢免效果:未知?

9月17日。浙江省温岭市横峰街道前洋村。罢免对象:村委副主任兼村委代理主任蔡加顺。罢免效果:成功。 

9月24日。黑龙江省哈尔滨市道里区群力乡城西村。罢免对象:村委主任张雪荣。罢免效果:未知。

10月20日。浙江省台州市路桥区路桥街道新路村。罢免对象:村委主任郑云达。罢免效果:成功。 10月20日。海南省澄迈县金江镇万昌村。罢免对象:村委主任陈德仁。罢免效果:未知。

11月1日。安徽省六安市裕安区苏埠镇横排头村。罢免对象:村委主任吴宜祥。罢免效果:成功。 

11月10日。广东省潮州市潮安县凤塘镇凤岗村。罢免对象:村委主任林潮锐。罢免效果:成功

11月13日。山西省柳林县柳林镇贺昌村。罢免对象:村委主任景真明。罢免效果:未知。

11月25日。山东省兴平市店张街道办事处尚志村。罢免对象:村委主任张文建。罢免性质:非法。

11月28日。广东省斗门县斗门区乾务镇虎山村。罢免对象:村党支部书记兼村委主任黄同志。罢免效果:局部成功。 

12月5日。河南省济源市轵城镇王虎村。罢免对象:部分村委会干部。罢免效果:未知。

12月17日。山东省济南市长清区文昌办事处荆庄村。罢免对象:村委主任王某。罢免效果:成功。