Authorities in southern China took drastic steps on Tuesday to publicly shame the village chief of a local fishing village of Wukan, well before he faced his alleged charges of corruption in court.
At an official news conference, authorities showed what they said was a videotaped confession of the democratically elected and popular village chief Lin Zulian.
In the confession, which was supposedly spontaneous, Lin appears to be reading his entire statement.
“Given my thin understanding and ignorance of the law, I've received huge kickbacks from various infrastructure projects, as well as from the collective purchase of village-owned properties," Lin said in the video. In the video, which was distributed to villagers through social media and later broadcast to the public at a press conference, Lin was seen sitting in chair in front of two unidentified individuals in a padded room.
Villagers, including Lin’s wife quickly dismissed the alleged confession. Lin’s wife said she believed the confession was forced.
“This is to deceive people,” she said, adding, “he is innocent.”
Sources in Wukan tell VOA that Lin’s wife is seeking legal help in her husband’s case. But it is not clear who might represent him. China routinely uses confessions to publicly shame and blame individuals before they are tried in court.
Among the public in China and rights activists, the tactic is widely seen as a tool to show guilt when evidence is lacking and authorities have some ulterior motive in targeting an individual.
In another telling detail, the grandson of Lin was also held for questioning and released just before the purported confession was made public. Rights advocates have documented numerous examples of authorities in China using family members to coerce alleged suspects into making confessions.
Backlash online
Villagers in Wukan were not the only ones questioning authorities’ actions.
Nearly 200,000 comments were posted in response to just one story about the confession on a popular Chinese news site Net-ease. Many questioned authorities’ actions, charges and use of the videotaped confession.
“In order to maintain your own supremacy, you [authorities] totally ignore law and order and treat it as if its nothing and in turn lose all public credibility,” wrote one commentator named Grumpy A-Lu.
Popular microblogger Guo Shiying wrote, “If this is not handled correctly. From this day forward, don’t even talk about “rule of law in China.”
Another added, “Once they say you are guilty, you are guilty.”
Pressure building
Originally on Tuesday, villagers had planned to petition outside a local government office, but that protest was postponed. Authorities have continued to arrest other members of the village committee. A reporter from Hong Kong was also among those taken into custody.
Sources tell VOA that schoolchildren in Wukan were kept at school until 6:00 PM Tuesday. The apparent purpose was to have children, even those in elementary school sign a document related to Lin’s alleged crimes.
"When some were contacted by school children, some villagers went to pick up their kids from school and realized that some students were asked to sign some kind of papers. Many of them refused to sign. [In face of coercion,] some even burst into tears in class," said one non-governmental worker in Wukan.
There was no immediate comment from authorities on the allegations, but officials have said that they will respond to any concerns or problems raised the villagers in Wukan. That they will conduct all investigations in accordance with the law, will not protect anyone or avoid any investigation.
In 2011, the residents of Wukan rose up, barricading the village and kicking out local Communist Party leaders over a land-grab dispute. In a rare show of compromise, the village was allowed to hold elections for their village council the following year, during which Lin and others were elected.
The land dispute has yet to be resolved and villagers have said that Lin’s arrest came just one day before Wukan residents were planning to hold a village meeting to discuss the lingering dispute and petitioning local authorities for help.
The city government of Lufeng, which oversees Wukan, has pledged to resolve the land rights dispute, but added that if that effort is not sufficient, local residents will need to resolve the issue in the courts.
via Voice of America http://ift.tt/28QLBBC
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