Twelve Dongzhou Villagers Sentenced: Government

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 015624 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM AND DRL/PHD USPACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI ECON CH SUBJECT: Twelve Dongzhou Villagers Sentenced: Government Sends Message on Violent Protests REF: A) Guangzhou 11684 (NOTAL); B) 05 Guangzhou 32000 (NOTAL); C) 05 Guangzhou 31940 (NOTAL) (U) THIS DOCUMENT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. NOT FOR RELEASE OUTSIDE U.S. GOVERNMENT CHANNELS. NOT FOR INTERNET PUBLICATION. ¶1. (U) Western and Hong Kong media sources have reported that on May 24, sentencing was given for villagers involved with the December 2005 Dongzhou riot in Guangdong Province. Of the approximately 20 villagers standing trial for illegally using explosive materials and disturbing public order, 12 received prison sentences of between three and seven years. Mainland press also published articles announcing punishments - albeit much lighter - for the four main government officials responsible for the crackdown. Three received internal warnings, while the fourth, who was originally being held under criminal charges, merely lost one of his two government positions. End Summary. ¶2. (U) The trial resulted from the December 2005 Dongzhou incident (in Dongzhou village, Shanwei prefecture, Guangdong Province),during which villagers and police violently clashed over inadequate land compensation, leaving between three and thirty people dead (see refs B and C). The trial began on May 22 at a Haifeng county court in Shanwei prefecture and lasted only two days. Of the approximately 20 villagers on trial (media sources differ on the exact number) 12 received prison sentences and between six and nine were acquitted. Of the 12 convicted, one received a prison sentence of seven years, while the rest received sentences of between three and six years. Crimes against the individuals included "exploding bombs," "gathering people to disrupt social order," and "gathering people to disrupt public transportation order". Admonishments for Government Officials -------------- ¶3. (U) Meanwhile the Nanfang Daily (the Guangdong Party mouthpiece) reported that the four government officials responsible for the crackdown "recently" received internal Party punishments (the article appeared on May 24 but did not specify the exact date of the punishments). Three of the officials were only given internal warnings about their actions. The officials include: Liu Jinsheng, Shanwei Deputy Party Secretary, Li Min, Vice Mayor, and Chen Huinan, Shanwei Construction Bureau Director. Only Wu Sheng, Shanwei Deputy Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the Shanwei Public Security Bureau (PSB),received any significant punishment, as he was removed from his PSB position. (Note: Wu was originally detained under criminal charges in December 2005. End note). Western Media -------------- ¶4. (U) The Associated Press, Reuters, and South China Morning Post (SCMP) all have covered the story. Almost all of the articles focused on the discrepancy between the tougher sentence for the villagers and the reprimand for the officials. The SCMP article quoted Li Jian - an activist who helped villagers during the riot - as saying the judges in the trial had an "utter disregard for human lives." Mainland Press -------------- ¶5. (U) Both the Xinhua Central News Agency and the Nanfang Daily (the leading Guangdong Party paper) wrote about the trial. The Xinhua article, quoting the Shanwei Daily, focused more on the actions of the villagers. According to Xinhua, between May and December 2005, the villagers prevented a construction company from collecting stone material, detained and blocked police and military vehicles along local state roads, and attacked a wind power plant with explosives. The article accused the villagers of deliberately attacking the wind power plant because they knew armed police were on duty. The article, however, did not explain the context or causes for the attacks - namely the failure to compensate villagers for land confiscation. The Nanfang Daily article focused mostly on announcing the punishment of officials. GUANGZHOU 00015624 002 OF 002 Government response -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The Consulate contacted the Shanwei Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) for official comment, but the Shanwei FAO instructed us to speak with the Guangdong Provincial FAO. The Guangdong FAO had no comment. Comment: "Killing the Monkey to Scare the Chicken" -------------- -------------- ¶7. (SBU) This sentencing sends a message from the Communist Party to both the ordinary citizens and security officials about the use of violence in civil unrest situations: crackdowns are permissible, but regrettable, but should not involve excessive violence, while villagers are given no latitude once they employ violence. Accordingly, the officials received a light and discreet punishment - internal reprimand. Even the figure most responsible for the killing of villagers, the Shanwei Deputy Party Secretary, retained his party position while only losing the SIPDIS PSB-level job. ¶8. (SBU) the language of the criminal charges against the villagers is also telling. The sentence was due to the use of petrol bombs and detention of police and military officials. By harshly punishing the Dongzhou villagers, the Central Government obviously intends to deter future protestors from the use of force and violence by harshly punishing the Dongzhou villagers. It will be interesting to see if another Guangdong protest allegedly involving petrol bombs and detainment of officials (such as the Bomei village incident, see ref A) will be handled in the same way. DONG