Publicly humiliated, like in the Mao days

When a local factory owner filed a case against a power station for stealing his sand and tampering with the land, he did not expect to be found guilty of blackmail. Paraded through the streets for eight hours, condemned in public and jailed for three months, Tang Xiaodong has now launched a campaign to seek justice.

The local villager's plight began when power station developers announced late 2005 that they were planning to build a new plant close to his sand factory in Dao Country, Central China. When construction began, Tang says the developers made changes to the area without previous consultation. The changes, such as raising the land level by two metres and modifying fencing borders, resulted in the capture of his land. He said they also stole 200,000 metric cubes of sand and grit belonging to the sand factory. He decided to fight for his ownership rights and filed a case against the power station owners.

In February of last year he was set to leave Xialiu village for a holiday. Yet, upon his departure, he was arrested by a policeman and held in custody. Four days later, following negotiations with the mayor, the power station constructors forced Tang to sign an agreement. They said he would receive compensations worth €3,500, far short of the ground's value. However, the contract was no such thing. In fact, the document was later used as evidence against Tang when the developers accused him of trying to extort money from the company.

"Defend my dignity"

This year Tang has begun taking steps to publicise his case. He started off borrowing €900 from relatives and friends to publish a newspaper advert describing his maltreatment. When a magazine decided not to publish it because of pressure from the authorities, Tang filed a lawsuit against the publication. On March 23 his first online appeal appeared. He later launched a website devoted to the cause. The advert explains that as a result of the actions taken against him and his own efforts to obtain redress, he's had to foot one million CNY (€90,000) in costs. The background letter reads "wronged" and below the picture "Defend my dignity!"

The homepage of Tang's website.

Tang was one of 50 people on trial (for separate crimes) on 28 August 2007. Escorted by around 16 police vehicles, the convoy travelled past crowds of onlookers before reaching Songba Town main square where the men and women were convicted in public. The banners held by the crowd call on students to take up legal studies so that they may take part in future trials. Overall, the detainees spent eight hours on show, with signs displaying their names and alleged crimes hung around their necks.