Recently, the Tengchong City Government in Yunnan Province violently cut off power to a local stone processing factory in the industrial park, forcing relocation, which led to clashes between workers and law enforcement, with some workers being injured. The owner of the stone factory told Epoch Times that the crackdown was just a pretext, and in reality, it was collusion between officials and businessmen to introduce companies for profit.
In March of this year, the Tengchong City Government issued a notice to comprehensively rectify sand and stone materials and volcanic stone processing factories, including the areas of Xiaodian Jiaojiao in Zhonghe Town and Baihefeng stone processing zone, Hetao Town Hutiaoqiao stone processing zone, Tuantian Township stone processing zone, Heshun Town Shitoushan Wenxing Mountain area, and surrounding stone and volcanic stone processing factories. In June, the third city-wide comprehensive rectification work promotion meeting was held under the guise of “protecting a bay of clear water and a green forest”.
On June 28th, the local government mobilized special police, emergency teams, and dozens of government personnel to the stone processing factory in Hutiaoqiao Industrial Park in Hetao Town, cut off power forcibly, and pressured the factory to relocate, leading to a confrontation with nearly a hundred workers on-site. Li Hao, the owner of a stone processing factory in the area, recounted the events to Epoch Times.
Li Hao revealed that on the rainy morning of June 28th, special police, emergency teams, government officials, and dozens of personnel surrounded the area, cut off power forcibly, and about 70-80 workers blocked the entrance to the park.
“They cut off our power, we tried to stop them, but they used shields to push us away and even hit our people. Four people were injured, and seven were taken away,” Li Hao said.
Another worker at the scene, Liu Ming, also told Epoch Times, “Many people were injured, some passed out from the beating. They even beat a nearly seventy-year-old man. How is this different from the activities of the underworld?”
According to workers, cutting off the electricity in the industrial park has disrupted the lives of over a hundred families who work in the more than 100 stone processing factories in Tengchong City. Approximately 1,000 households are engaged in the stone processing industry in the city. The government’s actions against the stone processing factories are affecting the basic livelihoods of around 10,000 people.
Data shows that Tengchong City is rich in volcanic stone, which is the preferred stone for construction projects. The production of volcanic stone primarily concentrates in Heshun Town, Zhonghe Town, Hetao Town, Mazhan Township, and Gudong Town. Initially, the volcanic stone processing facilities in the area were mostly family workshops. By the end of 2012, the local government mandated the relocation of roadside factories to designated industrial parks.
In recent years, the local government has been carrying out governance of the processing areas under the guise of optimizing the ecological environment, forcing processing units to relocate or shut down. Since the processing units are family-run workshops, irregularities are inevitable, which is used as a reason for the government to forcibly demolish without compensation. The workers believe that the true purpose of the government’s forced relocation is to monopolize the industry and earn more profits.
Li Hao stated that there was no compensation for the forced relocation by the local government, only a so-called reward of 16,000 yuan. Most of them have been in the industry for over ten years, some even for more than twenty years, and now, before the contracts expire, their livelihoods have been forcefully dismantled.
Zhao Yonglin, a resident of Zhonghe Town in Tengchong City, started operating a stone processing factory in 1993. His factory has been relocated three times by the local government under the pretext of road construction and unified planning without any compensation. By 2018, the stone processing factory he rebuilt was demolished again, leading to a loss of nearly one million yuan in investment. The reason given by the government was that the factory was spotted by satellites. He had to go to Guangdong to work, but ended up being cheated and didn’t earn any money. Currently, he has returned to his hometown to farm and constantly petitions for justice.
Zhao Yonglin told Epoch Times that the extraction of volcanic stone is primarily operated by village officials or those with influential backgrounds since the investment required is in the millions. Local villagers buy stone for processing from these operators. Initially, they would lease land from the villagers’ committee for production and processing, with only a contract, no requirement for a business license, and related documents, which were only obtained later. He has been forcibly relocated three times, while the neighboring stone processing factory of the village secretary was never forced to move.
He said, “This industry has been monopolized by those in power. Now that they see the profits in stone processing, they want to monopolize it again, using the pretext of ecological governance to force relocation, and then let bosses with background operate. Those in power can do anything without consequences, whereas the areas developed by farmers are deemed illegal.”
According to Li Hao, “The county collaborated with the town to invite us here. They planned and built the factory for us to operate. Now, the government is forcibly demolishing under the guise of ‘greening’. The government has invited several companies through bidding, bought land, built factories, and rented them out for operation by others, charging rent of sixty to seventy thousand yuan per year, while we pay just over 2,000 yuan a year in rent. They (the government) want to monopolize this industry.”
Another anonymous factory owner also told reporters that the local government colludes with businesses, selling land to other companies for profit.
Epoch Times called the Tengchong City Government’s Publicity Office, but the staff who answered the phone refused to conduct a telephone interview, citing the need for approval from superior authorities.