China/Land/Abuse of Power: Self-Immolation

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 003399 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/CM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ELAB PGOV PHUM CH SUBJECT: China/Land/Abuse of Power: Self-Immolation Protests Spark Social Stability and Property Rights Debate REF: A) Chengdu 313 07 BEIJING 2060; B) 08 BEIJING 2818; C) BEIJING 3392 THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: A tragic self-immolation death in Sichuan Province resulting from an urban house demolition dispute, followed by another similar protest in Beijing, has stimulated unusually broad public discussions of local-level abuse of power in land seizures. Some commentators have suggested that conflicts caused by sharply rising property prices, local governments' large financial stakes in real estate, and the awareness of individual rights could be a source of urban social instability, and noted a popular soap opera dealing with these land issues was pulled off the air. The persistent and numerous press and blog discussions since the incidents have triggered a public debate on the "forced demolitions" that are common in urban areas across the country, prompting the State Council to announce plans to revise demolition laws. While the official press has publicized regularly-occurring housing and land protests -- including a few self-immolations -- in the past, the extent of debate around this particular case may both influence and reflect discussions on legitimizing urbanization and land ownership that are expected to be part of the Communist Party's 12th 5-year economic plan. End Summary. -------------- Shocking Self-Immolation Protests -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On November 13, Chinese were shocked to see hand-held eyewitness video and photographs in many media outlets of a woman engulfed in flames on the roof of a house in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, surrounded by demolition equipment and public officials. District authorities had ordered the house forcibly demolished after failed negotiations with the owner regarding compensation. When the demolition crew arrived they were met by the owner's ex-wife who poured a flammable liquid over herself and was subsequently engulfed in flames. The house was demolished after she was taken to the hospital, where she later died. (See reftel A from CG Chengdu for further details on the case). ¶3. (SBU) On December 14, another widely-publicized self- immolation to protest a forced eviction occurred in Beijing. Not satisfied with the apartment offered as compensation, Xi Xinzhu burned himself, but survived, in a vain attempt to stop the forced demolition of his family's house in Beijing's Haidian district. His 81 year-old mother and wife were injured during the confrontation with workers carrying out the demolition order. The Beijing Times, a People's Daily controlled, but unofficial commercial metropolitan paper, reported that the head of the district where the demolition happened also had an interest in the real estate development company responsible for development of the area. -------------- State-Run Media Coverage -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Heavy media coverage of local heroes standing up to authorities in "demolition" cases is not a new phenomenon. The famous 2007 "nailhouse" incident in Chongqing (Reftel B) received massive publicity in Chinese media, including front page color photos in such news weeklies as China Newsweek. But, following an initial burst of media coverage, the propaganda authorities ordered a blackout fearing the protest would inspire copy cats (a notable difference from the extensive coverage currently allowed for these incidents). Since then, such protests have surfaced from time to time, including in a neighborhood in Beijing a couple of years ago (Reftel C). Self-immolation has also been used sporadically across China in the last several years for many differing types of protests. However, possibly due to the graphic nature of the publicly circulated video clip, combined with people's rising awareness of the value of their land, the Chengdu story has made it into the national spotlight and sparked a debate over the actions of the authorities. BEIJING 00003399 002 OF 003 ¶5. (SBU) China's official and quasi-official press has reported extensively on the case, including serious critiques of the local handling of the incident. For example, Xinhua, China's official press agency, ran an article December 4 that not only probed the facts of the incident but also discussed the general issue of property rights, official power, and home demolitions. Popular and influential party-owned commercial dailies such as Beijing's Xinjing Bao (Beijing News) and Guangdong's Nanfang Dushi Bao (Southern Metropolitan Daily) ran editorials, and the China Daily published an article December 11 by media commentator Bi Shicheng that stated "now that clashes over demolitions are becoming common, the central government has to overhaul the regulation as the first step toward honoring public sentiment, simply because it should not have been used as a violent tool by the strong against the weak." -------------- China's Netizens Also React -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Beyond the official press, influential bloggers across the political spectrum, from liberals to hard-line nationalists, commented on the immolation case. For example, the liberal blogger Bei Feng noted the incident in his weekly summary of important items from the Internet for the week of Dec 4, writing that it resulted in an outpouring of "public anger" on the Internet. Opinion ran against forced demolitions and commentators have said this should prompt law makers and decision makers to contemplate whether the current system of demolition regulations should be replaced by those based on the constitution and property law. Strong Nation Forum, a BBS hosted by the website of the CCP's flagship newspaper People's Daily, allowed extensive discussion of the issue of the property law and demolition. ¶7. (SBU) A cursory review of blog coverage shows many comments that portray the Chengdu self-immolation as a symbol of the deep frustration Chinese citizens feel with not only high real estate prices but also with powerful officials working hand-in-hand with property developers who often ignore the rights and interests of urban residents. There are many examples of blog comments in the form of eulogies and memorial speeches lamenting the victim's death and praising her courage and persistence in fighting authorities. -------------- "Dwelling Narrowness" and Housing Discontent -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Concern about the public's discontent with housing and land issues was evident recently when "Dwelling Narrowness," a popular television drama that dealt with the frustration and unhappiness among urban residents trying to buy a house, was abruptly cancelled. The show directly addressed soaring property prices that have given rise to other social problems, including the gap between the rich and the poor, corruption, and falling moral standards (one of the series' characters has an affair with a rich, corrupt official in order to buy an apartment). A local business publication attributed the cancellation to pressure from real estate developers, who were also portrayed negatively in the popular show. ¶9. (SBU) A prominent academic in a meeting with Undersecretary Burns (Reftel C) confirmed that land and real estate seizures as a potential social stability problem had become a hot topic of discussion in China. He explained that local governments have an increasingly large financial stake in real estate, and as property prices in urban areas continue to climb the risk of conflicts with what he termed "quasi-legal land occupants" also rose. ¶10. (SBU) The above-referenced December 11 China Daily article echoed this view, explaining that local governments are often dependent on money generated by land supplies to boost local GDP (and thus secure local leaders' political futures). The article argued for giving common property owners more legal rights to fight off rich and powerful developers and local governments, writing that "in the long run, efforts should be made to reform local governments' finance and tax systems so that BEIJING 00003399 003 OF 003 they stop playing the role of stakeholders in the demolition game." -------------- -- State Council Responds to Call for Legal Reform -------------- -- ¶11. (SBU) Reports of the self-immolation prompted a discussion of the need to reform land-seizure procedures often abused at the local-government level. In a letter to the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee made public in December 17 China Daily article, law professors Shen Kui, Jiang Ming'an, Wang Xixin, Qian Mingxing, and Chen Duanhong of Peking University suggested that the State Council Legislative Affairs Office revise or abolish the "Housing Demolition and Relocation Management Regulation." Since then, other reports of lawyers, academics, and PRC media articles have been published advocating reform of demolition regulations. (Note: The existing regulation provides that residents have to vacate a property once the government issues a relocation permit, and a maximum period of a year and a half is allowed to negotiate compensation. If no agreement is reached, demolition may proceed. This regulation often leads to corruption in which local business interests collude with officials to pay minimal value for demolished homes to make way for profitable developments. End note.) ¶12. (SBU) The Peking University scholars wrote that the PRC constitution and property law provided that the government can only confiscate housing for public welfare construction, and that compensation must be paid before relocation is forced. The professors claimed the current regulation favors demolishers and infringes upon the rights of residents. One of the professors explained that they do not oppose urban development, but wanted simply to ask the question "if the price [of urban development] is people's basic rights and sense of security, can we afford that?" ¶13. (SBU) After a December 16 meeting with the law professors, the State Council Legislative Affairs Office said it is working on reforming the demolition regulation. "We'll speed up revising and issuing a new regulation to improve the current urban housing management system and better safeguard citizens' rights," said Gao Fengtao, deputy director of the Legislative Affairs Office. He added that the State Council has been working on a new regulation since the implementation of the 2007 Property Law, but still needs more time to resolve the many issues related to demolition. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶14. (SBU) China recently concluded the Central Economic Work Conference which endorsed increasing urbanization as a means to boost domestic consumption, and is currently working towards the 2010 drafting of the 12th 5-year economic plan which reportedly will include urbanization as a key theme. The extent of debate around this particular case, and the debate surrounding maintaining social stability while promoting urbanization, will influence the government's discussions on urban and suburban land ownership in drafting the 12th 5-year plan. Currently urban land is held on long-term leases which are expected to be renewed. If China attempts to accelerate urbanization to rebalance the economy and boost consumption without addressing the legal and institutional weaknesses in the current land management system, more protest incidents will likely result. These incidents could spur needed legal reforms and stronger property rights, but will likely not themselves become a source of broader social instability. End Comment. GOLDBERG