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Shanghai Police Brutalize
Property Owners with Pepper Spray and Tear Gas
Xin Fei
The
Epoch Times
Monday December 3, 2007
On the evening of November 26, over 1,000 property
owners from the Wanke Holiday Scenic Residential Subdivision in
Minhang District, Shanghai City, gathered to protest against the
government’s expansion of high-voltage power lines, which
are believed by residents to be a health hazard. Several hundred
police used pepper spray and tear gas on the crowd; several property
owners were beaten up and arrested.
The residents told The Epoch Times they felt that it was difficult
to be a good citizen in China. According to the residents, on
the morning of November 26, after most residents had gone to work,
the local power company and police went to the Wanke Holiday Scenic
Subdivision to begin construction of the high-voltage power lines
without the owners’ consent. They dug a hole on the lawn.
In protest, senior citizens who were doing morning exercises organized
themselves, lined up in front of the wired fence, and stood in
the holes dug by the police. The police forcefully removed the
seniors from the holes.
At about 8 p.m., hundreds of property owners from the subdivision
gathered to protest against the government’s action. They
shouted loudly the slogan “Return Our Home, Return Our Health.”
At its peak, the number of protesters reached over 1,000 people.
(Article continues below)
In a half an hour, the police declared marshal law to prevent
more residents from joining the protest. They arrested several
resident representatives, which led to more protests.
Hundreds of special police, paramilitary police, anti-bomb squad
police, regular police, staff from the local housing management
company, and security guards from the power company used pepper
spray and tear gas on the residents. Several residents who were
taking photos or arguing with the police were surrounded and beaten
up. They were later taken away in squad cars.
Ms. Zhao, one of the residents, said, “Many people couldn’t
open their eyes, as their eyes were red and swollen from the tear
gas. My neighbor’s eyes were still hurting even this morning.
Many elderly and women sat on the ground crying. I saw two young
men besieged by the police. They were pushed to the ground, kicked,
and beaten. Another resident who was taken away yelled through
the squad car window that he was beaten by over a dozen policemen.”
Another resident, Mr. Liu, said that several property owners
went to the district government to appeal and was told that both
the district director and deputy director were away at a meeting.
The Party Secretary was also not available. The residents were
told to go to the local police station, where they were told to
go to the district government. Mr. Liu said, “They were
just kicking us around. They try to fool the common people.”
Mr. Tang, another resident, said that the residents contacted
several local media about the situation, but the media refused
to report on it. Mr. Tang said angrily, “The so-called ‘freedom
of speech’ is a total lie. The Chinese media have always
been mouthpieces of the ruling party. The only thing we can do
is to go to overseas media.”
According to the residents, on August 10, 2006, the Shanghai
Power Company distributed a letter stating that the company would
be constructing extremely high-voltage power lines of 550 KV across
the densely populated Chunshen Residential District in Shanghai.
Hundreds of thousands of residents in over 20 subdivisions along
the power lines, as well as students from over 20 schools, may
face increased health risks due to effects of electromagnetic
fields. There was strong opposition from the residents.
No consensus was reached after some negotiation. However, since
September 2007, the power company has begun construction in Chuncheng,
Chunshen, Xinge Elementary School, and Jinming in Shanghai City,
without giving any notice to the property owners. Their work was
halted due to resident opposition.
On November 18, some residents went to People’s Square
and the city government to appeal. They were arrested and beaten
up by the police. Since then, protest banners can be found in
many subdivisions.
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