HONG KONG -- Last March 8, the Chinese government executed a former vice governor of the southeast province of Jiangxi, in the hope that this would demonstrate its determination to act against corrupt and oppressive officials.
Yet in the last two weeks of August, as many as 20,000 farmers in southern Jiangxi staged a small but significant uprising against corrupt and oppressive officials, who obviously had not gotten the message that Beijing was trying to send with the execution.
The farmers evidently went on the rampage, starting around August 13, against what they feel is excessive local taxation, in addition to the provincial and national taxes that must be paid.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.