Hainan state-owned enterprises secretly cut down betel nut trees belonging to farmers, sparking a collective protest. Local farmers surrounded the subsidiary office of the state-owned enterprise, overturned vehicles, and destroyed the company’s sign. Local law enforcement at one point fired warning shots in an attempt to disperse the protesters.
On October 31, a large-scale collective protest broke out in Qiongzhong, Hainan. The discontent of local residents was triggered by Hainan Natural Rubber Industry Group (hereinafter referred to as Hainan Rubber) and its subsidiary stealing betel nut plantations from farmers. People gathered outside the company’s building to protest, overturning vehicles and throwing stones at company personnel and riot police.
Online videos show that on the afternoon of the 31st, local farmers piled up the felled betel nut trees in front of the Hainan Rubber subsidiary building, demanding answers. The protesters blocked the company’s entrance and chanted slogans.
By nightfall, the farmers not only overturned cars, but some shouted “down with the bandits,” and the police fired warning shots at one point.
Video footage from the scene shows that company employees were trapped inside the building, later evacuated under police escort. After the police left, some farmers climbed onto the company’s platform and smashed the company’s sign. The protest gradually dispersed in the late night, leaving a scene of chaos.
Records indicate that Hainan Rubber is a large state-owned enterprise, founded on March 29, 2005, and is the largest natural rubber processing company in China. It was listed on the A-share market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange on January 7, 2011, and ranked 315th in the Fortune China 500 in 2025.
The official Douyin account of Hainan Rubber released a notice on October 31, stating that the disputed land was within the boundary map of the group’s subsidiary, the Jianchao branch. The company legally owns the land, which has been illegally occupied by villagers from Nabai Village Committee, seriously affecting the company’s production and operations. Therefore, the company cleared non-rubber crops on the land, leading to conflict with the villagers.
Many mainland Chinese netizens questioned this: “Illegally occupied until now, when? 100 years ago or how many years ago?” “One was established in 2005, the other has a record of existence dating back to 1964. Who is who?” “The land was planted by generations of local people.” “Today cutting down Hainan’s betel nut trees, tomorrow it could be sugarcane in Guangxi, after tomorrow it could be citrus fruits in Guangdong, and the day after tomorrow they might target people in Fujian.” “Your company was only established a few years ago, the farmers are probably not migrants, but have been there for generations. Who is encroaching on whom?” “Support the farmers.”
Some netizens also questioned: “You cut down the trees in the early morning, who ordered this?”
Mainland media New Yellow River reported on this incident early this morning, but Epoch Times reporters found that as of 10 a.m. today, the report had been deleted.
Videos of the clashes between police and civilians spread to overseas social platforms, sparking discussions among netizens:
“Such scenes indicate that the chain of trust has been completely broken. Brothers, once transparency and dialogue are lost, any conflict could escalate into a scenario of chaos in an instant.”
“Hainanese are impressive. I lived in Sanya for 2 years in the past 15 years. The mindset of the people there is not to be enslaved. When the armed police were deployed for the demolition of Haipo, the local people dared to confront them. Truly admirable. People from other regions really don’t have the courage of the Hainanese.”
“When emotions reach a boiling point, such out-of-control scenes often mean that underlying long-term conflicts have already reached a critical juncture.”
“They are because they want to seal off Hainan Island. In fact, in the past two years, they have been controlling the land development in many parts of Hainan, which has a significant impact on the economic development of many areas in Hainan. Whether you actually seal it off or not, the result is the same, it’s been delayed all the time.”