BY EVA CHENG
At least two farmers were killed and 18 wounded on April 15 when more than 600 police and paramilitary troops broke up a rebellion by farmers in Yuntang, Jiangxi province.
The farmers were protesting against what they saw as endless demands for higher fees and taxes from the local authorities.
The killings occurred during an early morning raid, after the gathering farmers reacted to the police's initial gunshots by throwing rocks. While many of the wounded were recovering in hospital, Yuntang was immediately placed under siege, with police occupying the village for at least a day.
The villagers have been resisting for years the ever-rising demands for fees and taxes which they say they cannot afford. Last year, they even built a barricade across the village's only road with the nearby town, trying to block local officials from coming in.
Resentment rose to a new high in 1998 when, despite crops being devastated by severe flooding, officials still tried to raise the taxes by 30%. Farmers refused to pay.
But the levies rose again in 1999, with orders to pay the sum owed from 1998. The villagers, however, have refused to give up fighting, and police have been brought in to break up angry crowds on numerous occasions since.
The Yuntang experience is by no means unique, as back-breaking local levies are a widespread and growing problem in China.
Recognising the gravity of the problem, China's Premier Zhu Rongji urged in a 1999 speech that local officials must treat the issue with "understanding" rather than by force.
The appeal seems to have fallen on deaf ears. In August, in a town near Yuntang, more than 10,000 farmers also rose in protest against rampant high levies and taxes.