Recently, villagers from Livan Nature Village, Xiaobaishi Town, Fu’an City, Fujian Province, reported that 371 mu (about 24.7 hectares) of collective land had been illegally occupied by the Fu’an government for 25 years. Despite the villagers’ appeals to the court, they have not received a fair judgement. Faced with this situation, the villagers’ representatives have been continuously petitioning and reporting to various authorities within the Chinese Communist Party.
According to a villager named Li Min, “The basic farmland, protective forests, and agricultural land that our Livan Nature Village relies on for survival have been blatantly looted by the Fu’an municipal government in the name of the Communist Party for the past 25 years. It is unimaginable that the Fujian High Court and the courts involved in this case have openly acted as tools of government theft. Over the past 25 years, the courts have collaborated with the Fu’an government to seize 371.404 mu of village collective land.”
On January 10th, the villagers’ representatives sent complaint letters to nine departments, including the Central Politburo Standing Committee, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Procuratorate, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Natural Resources. The villagers hope that the authorities at all levels will take the case seriously, establish a special task force to investigate in accordance with the law, return the land essential to villagers’ livelihoods, and hold those responsible legally accountable.
Li Min explained that the Fu’an government illegally transferred the land that had sustained their livelihoods for over a century to an accomplice named Liu Congsheng. The government repeatedly deceived the villagers by denying the issuance of land titles, only revealing the truth to the villagers five years after the fact, despite multiple inquiries and requests for assistance from the villagers.
Liu Congsheng utilized the villagers’ land to secure substantial loans from banks and used this capital to bribe officials, leading to his election as a Fujian Provincial People’s Congress representative based on political orders. This information was disclosed to the villagers’ leader by staff from the Fu’an Municipal People’s Congress.
As the village’s land was illegitimately granted to Liu Congsheng by the Fu’an government, the villagers sued the government in 2005, but the court ruled that the land belonged to the state without providing legal or factual justifications.
In 2017, Liu Congsheng was detained in connection with this case, yet the Fu’an government continued to occupy the villagers’ land without returning it.
Li Min remarked, “In order to seize our land, the Fu’an government fabricated false evidence and transferred our village’s land to another village using fraudulent means. The first and second-tier courts accepted this false evidence, claiming that ‘the defendant (Fu’an government) issued state land use certificates, while the plaintiff (villagers) had no legal interest,’ cutting off our path to seek redress.”
“The reason why the various levels of courts under the jurisdiction of Ningde City dare to unlawfully rule without fear is because in 2007, the Fujian High Court baselessly decided that our village’s land belonged to the state, and the lower courts dare not defy the High Court’s ruling. For over twenty years, we have applied for a retrial with the Fujian High Court four times, but received no response,” he added.
According to village leader Wang Xiuying’s Facebook post, aside from the 48 mu of basic farmland that needs approval from the State Council Office, the Fu’an government illegally approved the transfer of the village’s agricultural land and protective forests totaling 191.63 mu, while 79.936 mu of the villagers’ coastal areas were unlawfully reclaimed. Currently, 143.796 mu of farmland is being occupied by the Fu’an Natural Resources Bureau. Liu Congsheng, taking advantage of the government’s illegal land use certificates, secured loans of over 1 billion yuan from banks without repaying the principal or interest.
Li Min emphasized, “Our complaints and petitions to various national authorities have been redirected to the Fu’an Natural Resources Bureau, which then cited that ‘the court has ruled that the land belongs to the state,’ ultimately ending Livan Village’s petitions. This way, the government and the courts cooperated to unlawfully seize 371 mu of land from the villagers, and this is only the measured area, the actual loss is much greater.”
He continued, “The Fu’an government’s occupation has persisted for 25 years, and the courts and the government are still collaborating in the land seizure. The illegal collusion between local authorities and the courts has caused severe losses to the nation and our villagers. We have been fighting for our rights for over twenty years but have found no recourse. The credibility of China’s (CCP) laws and its rulers has been completely lost in the minds of the people.”
Despite Livan Nature Village’s small size and fewer than 300 residents, the villagers believe that this should not be a justification for the ruling elite’s exploitation. In the pursuit of their legitimate rights, they insist on demanding that authorities at all levels take the case seriously, initiate investigations, and provide the villagers with justice.