The story, courtesy of the UK Telegraph:
For the first time on record, the Chinese Communist party has lost all control, with the population of 20,000 in this southern fishing village now in open revolt.
The last of Wukan’s dozen party officials fled on Monday after thousands of people blocked armed police from retaking the village, standing firm against tear gas and water cannons.
Since then, the police have retreated to a roadblock, some three miles away, in order to prevent food and water from entering, and villagers from leaving. Wukan’s fishing fleet, its main source of income, has been stopped from leaving harbour.
The plan appears to be to lay siege to Wukan and choke a rebellion which began three months ago when an angry mob, incensed at having the village’s land sold off, rampaged through the streets and overturned cars.
Although China suffers an estimated 180,000 “mass incidents” a year, it is unheard of for the Party to sound a retreat.
Ahem.
As you can see, the Torygraph likes to frame this as some kind of anticommunist uprising. Actually, it’s an antiCAPITALIST one.
The corrupt officials of Wukan are Communist in name only, and according to this blog, the villagers have appealed to higher authorities — which, in pre-Maoist times, would have meant the Emperor, or the regional governor. Nowadays, it means Communist Party federal authorities in Beijing. Meaning, they still have faith in the national party, if not the local authorities!
The corrupt local officials are feudal landlords to the core…the very same that Chairman Mao once swore to eradicate. (And very nearly succeeded, too.) They are seizing village lands to sell them to corporate developers…now, how communistic is THAT?
If you said “not at all”, pat yourself on the back.
And the fact that the villagers are taking action collectively, not as “rugged individuals”, should be seen as proof that socialism — REAL socialism — is not dead in China by a long shot. Whether or not the villagers of Wukan call it that, that is in fact what they are doing. To save their village, they must act as a village, and overthrow corrupt feudalist officials. It’s a commandment that dates back to Mao himself. And as long as they act together, and do not let themselves be divided and conquered, they will win.
It’s a lesson sure not to be lost on the Chinese people, whose discontent with the increasing capitalization of their country is rising, along with human rights abuses, pollution — and protests against it all.