On September 10th, a standoff between a local law enforcement team and a rural family in Yihuang, Jiangxi Province went awry, leading to three villagers setting themselves aflame. Two were badly injured and one was pronounced dead at hospital.
The incident was believed to be triggered by a dispute over demolition compensation. In the aftermath, on September 16th, two female family members of the deceased were prevented from boarding an airliner from Nanchang to Beijing by Yihuang officials and were forced to take refuge at a woman’s bathroom before the media intervened. The two claimed that they were on a trip to petition to the higher-level government.
Today, Shenzhen-based newspaper Daily Sunshine reported that multiple government officials, including a vice county mayor, have been discharged from their position to accept police questioning. The big image on the front page shows Zhong Rujiu, sister of one of the self-immolators, being taken away by the police in a school bus.
Update:
Global Voices has an excellent summary of how microblogs (mostly on Sina’s Weibo platform) spread news of the affair: Yihuang Self-Immolation Incident and the Power of Microblogging. See also:
ESWN: Microblogs Rescue Petitioners
China Digital Times: Latest Directives from The Ministry of Truth
- Daily Sunshine (Chinese): Government officials fired after deadly demolition action