BEIJING (AFP) – A Chinese court ruled Tuesday that the death of a village chief crushed by a truck in December was accidental, sparking outrage from those who insist he was murdered for his campaigning over land seizures.
The gruesome December 25 death of 53-year-old Qian Yunhui has rattled authorities at a time when the government is trying to damp down public anger over a range of hot-button issues including official abuses and rising prices.
Qian had demanded compensation for farmers whose land was seized to make way for a power station and his death stirred passions after doubt was cast on the official version of events.
Gruesome photos posted online appeared to show Qian, who had been leader of Zhaiqiao village in the eastern province of Zhejiang, crushed under the wheels of a truck.
A court sentenced the unlicenced driver, Fei Liangyu, to three-and-a-half years in prison on Tuesday for "accidentally" running over Qian, China Central Television (CCTV) said in an in-depth live report.
Police and the courts said it was a simple hit-and-run, basing their conclusions in part on video footage supposedly recorded by Qian's wristwatch during the accident -- images dismissed by some as a total fabrication.
"Looking at this videotape, I think you must say that it is not a traffic accident -- this is murder," said one chatroom posting on the popular web portal Netease.com.
"Why is he the only one to wear a wristwatch video camera -- why does he need to videotape? Do judges wear wristwatch video cameras?"
CCTV on Tuesday repeatedly broadcast the shaky footage -- shot by a figure walking down a road and which ends with the image being severely jarred and, finally, a shot of a truck's wheel.
The reports appeared aimed at underlining the official version it was a simple traffic accident.
Another comment posted under the name cdch1983 said, "We've seen these inferior (government) tactics before and it is unclear whether they think the people are dumb, easily fooled or downright stupid.
"This is a tragedy, an out-and-out naked lie."
Chatrooms on the case on some other major Chinese portals were shut after the verdict, apparently to stifle anti-government comments.
Court officials refused comment when contacted by AFP.
Qian had been detained three times since 2005 for repeatedly demanding compensation for farmers after nearly 150 hectares (370 acres) of land was seized, earlier reports said.
Government-backed land requisitions, often in collusion with real estate developers, remain one of China's most controversial issues, with authorities routinely accused of enriching themselves through arbitrary land grabs.
The government has recently indicated mounting concern over that and other key controversial issues such as corruption that are blamed for thousands of frequent angry public prοtests.
Rights groups said the government last month ordered the media to restrict coverage of such controversial issues this year.
http://latestchina.com/article/?rid=29166
Witnesses renew doubts over China villager's death
BEIJING – A new account of the gruesome death of a village leader fighting for better compensation for seized land is renewing suspicions of police involvement and adding to a growing credibility issue for China's government.
Officials have seemed powerless to control information about Qian Yunhui's death ever since photos began appearing online showing him being crushed under the wheel of a large red truck on Christmas outside his village where he and others had earlier blocked the road to prevent construction of a power plant. Angry essays have circulated on the Internet, and academics, activists and journalists have organized independent probes.
The persisting suspicions about Qian's death reflect a growing lack of trust in China's government as rampant corruption and official abuse erode public confidence.
The latest report emerged Thursday, posted by reporter Liu Jianfeng of the China Economic Times newspaper on his blog after he spent eight days visiting Qian's Zhaiqiao village. It cited a witness who described seeing four men in helmets and dark blue riot police uniforms — without badges — using police batons to beat the tall and sturdy 53-year-old Qian to the ground. A red truck was parked on the road about 15 feet (five meters) away, Liu cited the witness as saying.
"After they pinned him down, they waved and shouted to the truck to come over," he quoted the witness as saying. "The truck slowly drove over, and two of the men jumped aside while the other two held Qian down. Just behind the truck there were also about 20 men in riot police uniforms."
Yang Youcai, a spokesman for the Communist Party in Yueqing city, which oversees Zhaiqiao, would not comment other than to say police previously announced results of an investigation. That investigation concluded that Qian died in a road accident, an explanation which drew derisive criticism online.
Liu said he posted his report on his blog because the newspaper would not carry it. He declined to comment further, citing his newspaper's policy.
His report is among the most detailed to emerge from the village of 3,700, where police have imposed tight surveillance since Qian's death. Two other witnesses who spoke out after his death, saying they saw him being held down by a few men while being run over by the truck, were later said by police to have retracted their statements.
Most residents have been too frightened by reports of police detentions to speak to reporters, Qian's daughter-in-law Qian Shuangping said in a phone interview. "The villagers are all afraid to talk because they don't want to be taken away. Many of them don't even dare to sleep in their own homes at night," she said.
Qian's death is the latest violent incident to touch a nerve among the Chinese public, angry over official corruption and abuse of power, including unfair seizure of farmers' land for development. The authoritarian government, which rose to power promising to promote farmers' welfare, has tried to prove responsive while attempting to control reports about the conflict in Zhaiqiao village.
"The credibility of the government, or the legitimacy of the government to a certain extent, is so fragile at this time," said Yawei Liu, director of the Atlanta-based Carter Center's China program, which monitors rural elections and governance. "People tend to believe in gossip and rumors rather than the official statements. That's something that is very alarming and has to be addressed."
Qian, a poorly educated but entrepreneurial farmer, became a hero to the villagers he served by lobbying the government for fair compensation after it seized village land six years ago to build the large power plant. He was arrested three times, his daughter-in-law said, and each time returned to the fray with popular support.
His blockade of a key transport route just days before his death forced costly delays in construction work at the power plant, angering truckers as well as officials, according to the China Business Journal.
Inconsistencies in police accounts of Qian's death have fueled the public skepticism. Among the discrepancies are police claims that a roadside surveillance camera had malfunctioned, failing to record Qian being crushed under the truck but capturing a scuffle between villagers and police hours later.
Liu's record also includes other allegations of police malfeasance — Qian's son-in-law was quoted as saying he was beaten by police during questioning, while one key witness, an elderly woman, was apparently intimidated by police.
Also missing is Qian's body. Police removed it from the site and the family is unsure of its whereabouts, his daughter-in-law said. "We don't know what to do to resolve this. We want the body back to bury it so that he can rest in peace."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110115/ap_ ... us_death_1
Village chief Qian Yunhui crushed to death
Questions and fury follow the death of village chief Qian Yunhui in China, as netizens allege that there is some foul play involved in his death. Qian Yunhui, who was the head of Zhaiqiao Village in Yueqing City, was crushed to death by a construction truck.
The horrifying pictures of Qian Yunhui's death on Saturday sparked a fury against the Chinese Government among netizens, who are claiming that he was killed by officials to silence his six-year campaign to protect fellow villages in a land dispute.
It has been reported that government officials had misappropriated 146 hectares of land from Qian Yunhui's village. The former Communist Party representative, Qian Yunhui reportedly traveled to Beijing to file a petition with the central authorities on land dispute.
On Saturday morning, Qian Yunhui was run over by a red truck, and his body crushed beneath the left front tire. However, an eye witness claimed that he was held down by five men wearing security uniforms while a truck drove slowly over his neck.
The terrible death of Qian Yunhui is pointing to discrepancies and forcing local officials to offer explanations.
Warning: graphic video.
YouTube video of the scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_9K250VQmk
YouTube video of the wristwath video released by CCTV:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epuDDHio ... _embedded#
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My 2 cents worth:
1) I notice in the images and the video of the corpse under the wheel f the truck that he was not wearing a wristwatch of any kind, let alone a video camera one. 2) At the start of the wristwatch video he is carrying an umbrella that cannot be found at the scene. 3) There is a tent constructed where the indecent happened on the video of the aftermath, but there isn't one in the wristwatch video. 4) Wrist watch video cameras don't usually point in front of the walker as people normally do not hold their hand to their belly as they walk. 5) Why did the tire stop right on top of him? In accidents, where a vehicle cannot stop in time, tires usually pass clear over the victims. 6) In the wristwatch video, grass can be seen flickering in front of the camera lens, but there is no such grass present in the pics and video of the corpse. 7) The police surveillance camera only stopped working at the time of the incident. 8] Why have the police taken his body? 9) At the accident/crime scene, a bamboo fence has been constructed around the truck (by whom???) and there is no police presence with locals picking up rocks, moving debris etc. 10) Why is the truck's engine still running at the scene? 11) How could a driver possibly accidentally run someone down under the driver's side front tire? 12) Why does the person running to the victim in the wristwatch video come around from the back of the truck and not from the driver's door? 13)It is very convenient that he died.
it is my feeling that the wristwatch video is an a fake and the video of the truck parked atop the body was staged by the local authorities. I think the guy was beat/interrogated by police and then deliberately run over. The guy who got 3 years in prison, probably never drove the truck at all and probably is not really going to prison. It's just a show for the public.
Can't see the videos? try using the proxy pimpmyip or vtunnel .
by 