Parallels; China and Tudor England
Parallels; China and Tudor England
One would think, living in a civilised world as compared to Tudor times in England, Governments would no longer implement pain and torture to those brave souls who dare to fight for justice.
I was astounded to see the rcent news about a long running dispute between farmers and local officials in Wukan, a coastal settlement of 20.000 people near China's industrial heartland in Guangdong Province.
More so, because I am involved in writing a new book about Robert Kett's uprising in Norfolk, England in July 1549. Like those poor peasant workers of the land who chose a man to lead them in Robert Kett aged 57 - so did the Chinese; he was called Xue Jinbo aged 42.
Like the Tudor peasants the Chinese have for so long been scared to protest in a communist regime but now they are able to see how democracies work in other lands, they gradually begin to show their objections to the seizure of land by rich private developers or government officials - but still given the safety in numbers, when masses join together, they set up blockades to keep the police at bay and to prevent arrests, all too bemused by what happened to the leader who was said to have undergone a fatal heart attack whilst in police custody when his family discovered his body bore signs of torture.
In the case of the Tudor peasants it was the rich farmers who were taking their lands upon which their livelihood depended and in protest they tore down the boundary hedges and fences the farmers had erected. This accumulated in the angry peasants forming a posse under the auspices of Robert Kett and his brother, William which was set to become the biggest ever rebellion - but only to be repelled by the Governments forces which led to the brothers Kett being tortured and hung on the castle walls as an example to all those who contemplate similar protests.
All through the ages we see similar protests but none as large as the Norfolk rebellion which, like the Chinese protests festered over a period of years before the poor made their move.
But will we be seeing perhaps larger clashes as the Chinese government bring in armed riot police in attempt to suppress the uprising
Generally the western world has been kept in the dark about the unhappiness of the Chinese poor due to the land takeover, official corruption and an unresponsive legal system. Police brutality has been rife according to many internet sources and, apparently in 2010 there were as many as 180.000 outbursts relating to strikes, sit-ins, rallies and violent clashes which have mushroomed during the last decade.
And like the Tudor peasants the Chinese equivalent become more and more frustrated when no real action is being taken to deal with their qualms. China may be the world's leading economy in the near future but to what cost?, something has to give in an age where ignorance is no longer bliss and because of the new technology all the world's inhabitants begin to discover their true rights.
Unlike those poor Tudor's whose well justified efforts were doomed from the start.
One would think, living in a civilised world as compared to Tudor times in England, Governments would no longer implement pain and torture to those brave souls who dare to fight for justice.
I was astounded to see the rcent news about a long running dispute between farmers and local officials in Wukan, a coastal settlement of 20.000 people near China's industrial heartland in Guangdong Province.
More so, because I am involved in writing a new book about Robert Kett's uprising in Norfolk, England in July 1549. Like those poor peasant workers of the land who chose a man to lead them in Robert Kett aged 57 - so did the Chinese; he was called Xue Jinbo aged 42.
Like the Tudor peasants the Chinese have for so long been scared to protest in a communist regime but now they are able to see how democracies work in other lands, they gradually begin to show their objections to the seizure of land by rich private developers or government officials - but still given the safety in numbers, when masses join together, they set up blockades to keep the police at bay and to prevent arrests, all too bemused by what happened to the leader who was said to have undergone a fatal heart attack whilst in police custody when his family discovered his body bore signs of torture.
In the case of the Tudor peasants it was the rich farmers who were taking their lands upon which their livelihood depended and in protest they tore down the boundary hedges and fences the farmers had erected. This accumulated in the angry peasants forming a posse under the auspices of Robert Kett and his brother, William which was set to become the biggest ever rebellion - but only to be repelled by the Governments forces which led to the brothers Kett being tortured and hung on the castle walls as an example to all those who contemplate similar protests.
All through the ages we see similar protests but none as large as the Norfolk rebellion which, like the Chinese protests festered over a period of years before the poor made their move.
But will we be seeing perhaps larger clashes as the Chinese government bring in armed riot police in attempt to suppress the uprising
Generally the western world has been kept in the dark about the unhappiness of the Chinese poor due to the land takeover, official corruption and an unresponsive legal system. Police brutality has been rife according to many internet sources and, apparently in 2010 there were as many as 180.000 outbursts relating to strikes, sit-ins, rallies and violent clashes which have mushroomed during the last decade.
And like the Tudor peasants the Chinese equivalent become more and more frustrated when no real action is being taken to deal with their qualms. China may be the world's leading economy in the near future but to what cost?, something has to give in an age where ignorance is no longer bliss and because of the new technology all the world's inhabitants begin to discover their true rights.
Unlike those poor Tudor's whose well justified efforts were doomed from the start.
Source...