- Lu Banglie
Lu Banglie (born 1971) is a pro-democracy
activist inChina . Lu is a farmer from Baoyuesi village inHubei province. During a period of drought in 2000, Lu began campaigning for reductions in the taxes levied upon poor farmers. Since that time Lu has campaigned on issues of land seizures, corruption, and access to health care. In 2003, Lu was elected to a position in the Zhijiang CityPeople's Congress . In 2004, he was elected to the Baoyuesi villager committee. [Elfstrom, M. 2005, [http://en.chinaelections.org/newsinfo.asp?newsid=604 'The saga of a rural reformer'] , "China Elections & Governance", 10 March.]Lu's political activities have led to violence against himself, his family, and his property. This attracted global media attention in 2005 when Lu was severely beaten by hired thugs and the incident was witnessed by journalists from "The Guardian". The attack was allegedly intended to intimidate Lu and convince him to end his campaign against corrupt local politicians. Lu declared his intention to continue campaigning against corruption, saying, "I know there are tigers in the mountain, but I still go to the mountain." [Watts, J. 2005, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/oct/12/china.jonathanwatts 'Chinese activist vows to continue, despite beating'] , "The Guardian", 12 October.] In October 2007 there were reports that Lu had been "disappeared", although these reports are difficult to substantiate. [FIDH 2007, [http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article4781 'Enforced disappearance of Messrs. Yao Lifa and Lu Banglie'] , "www.fidh.org", 12 October. Retrieved 3 March 2008.]
Lu Banglie is reported to have been influenced by the thought of
Mohandas Gandhi . [Joffe-Walt, B. & Watts, J. 2005, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/oct/11/china.jonathanwatts 'Pioneer who studied Gandhi'] , "The Guardian", 11 October.]See also
*
Human rights in the People's Republic of China Notes
External links
* Phoenix Weekly 2005, [http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20051203_1.htm 'Phoenix Weekly interviews Lu Banglie'] , "EastSouthWestNorth", 1 December.
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