Court Upholds Four-year Term for Guangxi Village Chief Who Fought Land Expropriation

On August 3, 2011, the Beihai Municipal Intermediate People’s Court in Guangxi Zhuangzu Autonomous Region announced it has upheld a four-year prison sentence and a 200,000 yuan (approximately $30,800) for Xu Kun (许坤), the elected chief of Baihutou Village in the Yinhai District of Beihai. Xu had led a multi-year fight against local government’s expropriation of village land in 2006 for tourism development. In April 2011, Xu was convicted of “illegal business activity,” a charge based on an allegation that Xu had unlawfully benefited from a parking lot operated on a disputed plot of land. Villagers view the prosecution as an act of revenge by local authorities.

For more information regarding Xu Kun and the Baihutou Village Case, see:

• Appeal Decision on Xu Kun’s case by the Beihai Municipal Intermediate People’s Court of Guangxi Zhuangzu Autonomous Region, August 1, 2011
• Xu Kun’s Appeal , May 5, 2011
• “Lengthy Prison Terms and Heavy Fines for Baihutou Village Chief and Land Rights Activists,” April 29, 2011
• “Family and Friends Fear Danger for Imprisoned Guangxi Village Chief ,” April 13, 2011
• “Guangxi Villagers Tried for Illegal Business Activities in Fight against Land Requisition,” February 28, 2011
• Yi Ming, “Defending Rights in Baihutou Village,” China Rights Forum, 2010, no. 4
• “Guangxi Authorities Target Village Chief Active in Land Rights,” May 19, 2010
• HRIC Take Action Campaign: Take Action in Year of the Rabbit!, February 01, 2011