01/29/2013 China (UCAN)
-A dispute over land revenue between parishioners in Leshan city and a local
construction firm turned violent on Monday, with two parishioners
hospitalized. About 100 protesters gathered on Monday afternoon and early Tuesday morning
outside a construction site to demand that the Renshou Sanyou Company pay money
owed to the diocese for land that was sold to build a residential complex.
Protesters said the company had ignored previous demands for payment and tried to disperse them by sending out a security guard, who allegedly threw bricks and assaulted several in the crowd.
Two parishioners are now in the hospital, with one – a woman in her 60s – in critical condition, according to protesters.
Father Joseph Tong Hengjiu, who supervised the land deal with Renshou Sanyou, told ucanews.com that the local government had given Leshan diocese more than 13,333 sq ms of land to build its new bishop’s house.
The diocese used a quarter of the allotted land and sold the remainder to Renshou Sanyou for 58 million yuan (US$9.3 million). The company agreed to pay the amount by August 2011 but postponed the due date until May last year following mediation by the city government.
Fr Tong said payment has still not been received, though the company has pressed ahead with its residential project, one building of which was due to be handed over to buyers on Tuesday.
“They will earn hundreds of millions of yuan, but they are unwilling to pay what they owe our diocese,” he said, adding that the diocese’s own construction plans had to be halted for lack of funds(Source).
Protesters said the company had ignored previous demands for payment and tried to disperse them by sending out a security guard, who allegedly threw bricks and assaulted several in the crowd.
Two parishioners are now in the hospital, with one – a woman in her 60s – in critical condition, according to protesters.
Father Joseph Tong Hengjiu, who supervised the land deal with Renshou Sanyou, told ucanews.com that the local government had given Leshan diocese more than 13,333 sq ms of land to build its new bishop’s house.
The diocese used a quarter of the allotted land and sold the remainder to Renshou Sanyou for 58 million yuan (US$9.3 million). The company agreed to pay the amount by August 2011 but postponed the due date until May last year following mediation by the city government.
Fr Tong said payment has still not been received, though the company has pressed ahead with its residential project, one building of which was due to be handed over to buyers on Tuesday.
“They will earn hundreds of millions of yuan, but they are unwilling to pay what they owe our diocese,” he said, adding that the diocese’s own construction plans had to be halted for lack of funds(Source).
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