Goldman said that while she has not heard about this particular organization, Chinese peasants have experienced an economic downturn lately.
“Although the peasants initially benefited from Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms, particularly land reforms in the late 1970s, by the 1990s, those reforms petered out and the farmers’ economic situation deteriorated vis á vis the cities,” she wrote in an e-mail. “It’s because of these reasons that farmers are protesting all over the country.”
Deng, recognized as the Chinese Communist leader who ordered a military crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, is credited for opening the Chinese economy to the world. His land reforms facilitated economic development, allowing farmers to lease their land and sell their harvest in markets.
And in spite of “competitive elections” for village heads and village council, a rule instated in the late 1980s, corruption still pervades the legislative process.
“The real power in the village is held by the Chinese Communist Party secretary,” Goldman wrote. “The party secretary controls the nomination process.”
But even so, she said, the party secretary has little control over levied taxes, which are set at an even higher level of government.
“Despite the spread of competitive elections to about 80 percent of China’s villages, China’s farmers have little input into how they are governed, particularly on the issues of increased taxes and fees imposed by the higher level township,” Goldman wrote.
Wenzhuo said that she believes she and 11 others were arrested to prevent the forum from taking place.
“Their main concern seemed to stop me from organizing that meeting,” Wenzhuo wrote.
While Wenzhuo said she was released after seven hours of detainment, others were “repatriated back to their hometown.”
“We were followed closely in the following few days,” she wrote. “It seems by now, their watch over us is relaxed.”
But Wenzhuo’s experience has not deterred her.
“I have told the police that I will do it again,” she wrote. “I will change my strategies and deal with it more carefully—maybe next time we will inform the police in advance what we will do.”
Wenzhuo said she does not plan to press charges. Representatives of the police department declined comment.
—Staff writer Margaret W. Ho can be reached at mwho@fas.harvard.edu.