In recent times, violent demolitions have occurred in Bobai County, Guangxi Province, and Lanshan County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, leading to villagers’ livelihoods being plunged into crisis.
On November 25th, in Longyuan Village, Shahe Town, Bobai County, Yulin City, two to three hundred people along with excavators stormed in and forcibly demolished 14 lime kilns owned by the villagers.
A villager, known as Feng Gang, recounted the events to a reporter from Epoch Times.
In October, the local government sealed off the 14 lime kilns in the village under the pretext of “low productivity, lacking licenses and certificates, and environmental pollution,” prohibiting the villagers from operating. On the afternoon of November 24th, the government held a meeting demanding the villagers to dismantle the kilns themselves, but the villagers disagreed. The next day, the local government mobilized two to three hundred people to forcibly demolish the kilns.
In just one day, the centuries-old lime kilns were leveled to the ground, leaving only stones and firewood at the scene. Feng Gang expressed that these stones and firewood are unsellable and only useful to kiln operators, resulting in losses of over 200,000 yuan.
Feng Gang further revealed that the 14 demolished kilns incurred losses of three to four million yuan. He said, “Our ancestors relied on this for generations. We had no idea we needed permits for environmental protection. We would have been willing to obtain them, but there was no room for discussion; they were forcibly demolished.”
He added that their village was the only one using firewood to burn lime kilns, producing lime for the entire county. The villagers had considered applying for intangible cultural heritage status for this craft. Feng Gang emphasized that they only fired three to four kilns a year, with a net income of only thirty to forty thousand yuan, not a high-pollution or high-productivity industry.
Over ten kiln owners who were forcibly demolished petitioned the town government for compensation, but officials at the petition office were unhelpful, leaving the villagers feeling helpless.
Feng Gang said, “In rural areas, we have been relying on this to make a living for generations. Without it, we don’t know what to do.”
Epoch Times tried to reach the town government by phone but was unsuccessful.
On November 19th in Nanshi Town, Lanshan County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, a decoration processing factory covering a building area of over 200 square meters was forcibly demolished without any documentation or legal procedures.
The factory owner, Li Ming, disclosed that the factory mainly assembled suspended ceiling decorative materials and was not a large-scale operation. When the factory was built, the Land and Resources Bureau confirmed it as “factory land,” but this year, it was suddenly designated as a “red zone” with construction prohibited.
Li Ming also stated that on the day of the demolition, over ten vehicles, dozens of urban management officers, and special police officers arrived. His brother attempted to record the incident with a mobile phone but was attacked by six or seven individuals, causing injuries to his neck, head, and chest from being pressed onto stones. He is currently hospitalized for treatment.
The demolition team not only damaged the factory’s metal sheets but also destroyed the machinery and equipment inside. Along with losses of three to four hundred thousand yuan in materials, the factory’s floor was completely excavated.
Li Ming had worked in Dongguan, Guangdong, where he became involved in the decoration industry. In 2016, he returned to his hometown to start a business, establishing a decorative material processing factory and opening a store in the town. However, due to the pandemic causing a decline in business, he could no longer afford the rent and moved the factory back to his rural hometown in 2021, relying on it for his family’s livelihood.
Li Ming mentioned that four employees lost their jobs, his father’s medical expenses exceeded one hundred thousand yuan, and with their sole source of income cut off, his entire family faced economic hardship. Feeling bewildered, he is unsure of what the future holds for them.
Epoch Times attempted to contact local government departments by phone but was unable to reach them.