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P 260908Z MAY 06
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 015624 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM AND DRL/PHD 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI ECON CH
SUBJECT: Twelve Dongzhou Villagers Sentenced: Government 
Sends Message on Violent Protests 
 
REF: A) Guangzhou 11684 (NOTAL); B) 05 Guangzhou 32000 
(NOTAL); C) 05 Guangzhou 31940 (NOTAL) 
 
(U)  THIS DOCUMENT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE 
PROTECT ACCORDINGLY.  NOT FOR RELEASE OUTSIDE U.S. 
GOVERNMENT CHANNELS.  NOT FOR INTERNET PUBLICATION. 
 
¶1.  (U) Western and Hong Kong media sources have reported 
that on May 24, sentencing was given for villagers involved 
with the December 2005 Dongzhou riot in Guangdong Province. 
Of the approximately 20 villagers standing trial for 
illegally using explosive materials and disturbing public 
order, 12 received prison sentences of between three and 
seven years.  Mainland press also published articles 
announcing punishments - albeit much lighter - for the four 
main government officials responsible for the crackdown. 
Three received internal warnings, while the fourth, who was 
originally being held under criminal charges, merely lost 
one of his two government positions.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) The trial resulted from the December 2005 Dongzhou 
incident (in Dongzhou village, Shanwei prefecture, Guangdong 
Province), during which villagers and police violently 
clashed over inadequate land compensation, leaving between 
three and thirty people dead (see refs B and C).  The trial 
began on May 22 at a Haifeng county court in Shanwei 
prefecture and lasted only two days.  Of the approximately 
20 villagers on trial (media sources differ on the exact 
number) 12 received prison sentences and between six and 
nine were acquitted.  Of the 12 convicted, one received a 
prison sentence of seven years, while the rest received 
sentences of between three and six years.  Crimes against 
the individuals included "exploding bombs," "gathering 
people to disrupt social order," and "gathering people to 
disrupt public transportation order". 
 
Admonishments for Government Officials 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Meanwhile the Nanfang Daily (the Guangdong Party 
mouthpiece) reported that the four government officials 
responsible for the crackdown "recently" received internal 
Party punishments (the article appeared on May 24 but did 
not specify the exact date of the punishments).  Three of 
the officials were only given internal warnings about their 
actions.  The officials include:  Liu Jinsheng, Shanwei 
Deputy Party Secretary, Li Min, Vice Mayor, and Chen Huinan, 
Shanwei Construction Bureau Director.  Only Wu Sheng, 
Shanwei Deputy Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the 
Shanwei Public Security Bureau (PSB), received any 
significant punishment, as he was removed from his PSB 
position.  (Note:  Wu was originally detained under criminal 
charges in December 2005.  End note). 
 
Western Media 
------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) The Associated Press, Reuters, and South China 
Morning Post (SCMP) all have covered the story.  Almost all 
of the articles focused on the discrepancy between the 
tougher sentence for the villagers and the reprimand for the 
officials.  The SCMP article quoted Li Jian - an activist 
who helped villagers during the riot - as saying the judges 
in the trial had an "utter disregard for human lives." 
 
Mainland Press 
-------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Both the Xinhua Central News Agency and the Nanfang 
Daily (the leading Guangdong Party paper) wrote about the 
trial.  The Xinhua article, quoting the Shanwei Daily, 
focused more on the actions of the villagers.  According to 
Xinhua, between May and December 2005, the villagers 
prevented a construction company from collecting stone 
material, detained and blocked police and military vehicles 
along local state roads, and attacked a wind power plant 
with explosives.  The article accused the villagers of 
deliberately attacking the wind power plant because they 
knew armed police were on duty.  The article, however, did 
not explain the context or causes for the attacks - namely 
the failure to compensate villagers for land confiscation. 
The Nanfang Daily article focused mostly on announcing the 
punishment of officials. 
 
 
GUANGZHOU 00015624  002 OF 002 
 
 
Government response 
------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Consulate contacted the Shanwei Foreign 
Affairs Office (FAO) for official comment, but the Shanwei 
FAO instructed us to speak with the Guangdong Provincial 
FAO.  The Guangdong FAO had no comment. 
 
Comment:  "Killing the Monkey to Scare the Chicken" 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶7.  (SBU) This sentencing sends a message from the Communist 
Party to both the ordinary citizens and security officials 
about the use of violence in civil unrest situations: 
crackdowns are permissible, but regrettable, but should not 
involve excessive violence, while villagers are given no 
latitude once they employ violence.  Accordingly, the 
officials received a light and discreet punishment - 
internal reprimand.  Even the figure most responsible for 
the killing of villagers, the Shanwei Deputy Party 
Secretary, retained his party position while only losing the 
 
SIPDIS 
PSB-level job. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) the language of the criminal charges against the 
villagers is also telling. The sentence was due to the use 
of petrol bombs and detention of police and military 
officials.  By harshly punishing the Dongzhou villagers, the 
Central Government obviously intends to deter future 
protestors from the use of force and violence by harshly 
punishing the Dongzhou villagers.  It will be interesting to 
see if another Guangdong protest allegedly involving petrol 
bombs and detainment of officials (such as the Bomei village 
incident, see ref A) will be handled in the same way. 
 
DONG