The tide of discontent in China is rising

Increasing corruption, land seizures and official abuse of power fueled by China's rapid economic development are sparking a rise in rural unrest, analysts and critics said on Monday.

Last week's clash between paramilitary police and villagers protesting a land grab for a power plant in Guangdong Province was unusual only because guns were used against demonstrators, experts said.

As many as 30 villagers were shot dead in the confrontation on Dec. 6 in Dongzhou Village, Shanwei City, residents said, although the government has said only three were killed and eight wounded.

The incident was the latest of many violent clashes over the past year, including one in Guangdong in which police roughed up and detained scores of villagers and activists over a land dispute in Taishi Village, Panyu City.

In another major incident, six villagers were killed and 51 wounded in June when the local government sent hundreds of thugs into Dingzhou Village in northern Hebei Province to beat locals who refused to make way for a power plant.

"It's happening everywhere in the country," said Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波), a well-known dissident and democracy activist.

"Exploitation by the officials in power and the rich people, including developers, is increasing," he said, explaining one reason for the increase in civilian unrest. "Also, in the past few years, ordinary people's understanding of their rights has gotten stronger."

According to the government's own tally, there were 74,000 riots and other "incidents involving the masses" last year, compared to 10,000 incidents of social unrest in 1994.

The number of people involved has increased five-fold -- from 730,000 in 1994 to 3.76 million people last year, according to Ministry of Public Security statistics.

The main causes for unrest were worker-employer relations, rural land disputes, city demolitions and evictions, and compensation over relocations, state media said.

China's economic development has provided more opportunities for government officials to make money. One of the easiest ways is to take people's land and sell it to developers for housing or commercial projects.

Land is also being seized for government projects.

"In appropriating land, there's very often corruption and inadequate compensation for the peasants, so the peasants protest," said Joseph Cheng (鄭宇碩), a political analyst at City University in Hong Kong.

While in democratic countries, the government would have to negotiate a reasonable price, in China officials usually want to give as little money as possible, frequently pocketing the difference.

"In China, the officials' power is too great," Liu said. "The people's power is too little. In these demolition and eviction situations, the officials decided the price."

So far, incidents of unrest have tended to be isolated with protesters fighting their own battles.

Beijing, however, is keenly aware of the danger of simultaneous nationwide demonstrations and therefore clamps a lid on information to prevent a repeat of the pro-democracy movement in 1989, analysts said.

Still, the challenge for the government is great, observers said.

"A little Taishi and a little Dongzhou may not lead to events on a nationwide scale, but these incidences will greatly weaken the government's legitimacy," Liu said.

Cheng said that while the central government had promoted ways to minimize social unrest, such as reducing farmers' taxes and banning land grabs for unnecessary projects, local governments were shortsighted.

"Their efforts are frustrated by local governments' corruption," Cheng said.