(7) Peter Simpson, Wukan siege: Rebel Chinese Villagers Demand Body of Dead Rights Campaigner. Daily Telegraph, Dec 19, 2011 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ ... hts-campaigner.html
("'We will march on Wednesday to demand Mr Xue's body for burial, the release of the other villages they are holding, and for Daily Telegraph, Dec 19, 2011.
the new village representatives to be legally recognised,' he [Lin Zuluan, the chief village representative] told The Daily Telegraph. 'If we get these, we can talk about the land seizures,' he said.")
(i) "'Leaders at a higher level of local government summoned me for talks. They said they would come to the village as they know I will not leave. But I told them that until they release Xue's body, and the four other villagers held in custody, and to give back our land, there can be no talks,' said village representative Lin Zuluan.
(ii) "The village administration is now run from a temple to the villager's Goddess of the Sea, Mazu.
(iii) "The villagers are keen for the protection of the media to remain – but they are also anxious their rebellion is being wrongly portrayed as a movement to bring down the central government.
(iv)
"The villagers' land grab complaint stretches two miles out into the open sea which provides half their livelihoods. The Telegraph snuck out to sea with fisherman Wang Mingjie, 34, dodging the morning patrols of the marine police, to the vast oyster and mussel farms.
"'These waters were sold by the local government to a rich local businessman who started shellfish farming.
"'But his farm is now so vast and we cannot fish our traditional waters. They chase us off, ' he said, sweeping a hand out over the acres of plastic floats.
(b) My comment:
(i) The three paragraphs in (iv) means that villagers had fished in the open brown water, which is now "vast oyster and mussel farms" because a local businessman boght the brown water and erected the shellfish farms.
(ii) This is the Telegraph report that VOA--in (4) above--cited.
"All answered the call to donate small amounts of money to help pay for the rice-run and help feed the poorer families who are starting to feel the pinch as supplies dry up due a land and sea blockade by the local government.
"Since the Telegraph broke the story to the West last week, more international media have made their way into the sprawling coastal settlement, passing security roadblocks on the back of motorcycles and bumpy drives up the network of sandy-dirt tracks. The media presence is seen to be acting as a human shield
"Points of contact between the villagers and higher levels of government since the protests began appear vague, however. 'We have third parties passing on our demands,' said Mr Lin, without elaborating.
"Some villagers have walkie-talkie radios but mobile phones remain the main means of communication. Fearing the government will soon cut the lines and down the internet connection, gongs have been placed at the barricades and are to be sounded to summon the village to defend against attack.
"The small fishing vessels are tied up – unable to be put to sea because of a small flotilla of marine police are blockading the small bay's entrance, according to Chen. 'They chase you back in,' he said.