Left: Li Qiang’s mother, whose mattress was drenched shortly after the incident, stands in front of the gatekeeper’s office of Xiaotangshan government. Right: “Receipt for the case” issued to Li Qiang by Xiaotangshan police station on Feb. 14, 2021.
On Feb. 14 this year, in front of the Xiaotangshan Town Hall in Beijing, Li Qiang, who had been sleeping in the cold for nearly a month, was attacked by unknown people. As the owner of Jiuhua Agricultural Science Demonstration Park in Xiaotangshan Township, Li Qiang’s house was demolished and he is now homeless and has to sleep with his mother on the street in front of the township government.
Since January this year, Li Qiang, a resident of Beijing’s Xiaotangshan Township, and his mother have been sleeping rough in front of the Xiaotangshan Township government because they have no place to return to. The mother and son are homeless because their neighborhood, Jiuhua Agricultural Science Demonstration Park, has been demolished by social workers hired by the local government.
Li Qiang’s Family joined the local government-led investment project in 2000 and was able to move into the Jiuhua Agricultural Science and Technology Demonstration Park. At the Time of the demolition last November, they had been living there for 20 years.
With Li Qiang’s Home demolished, he and his mother were then forced to resist by going to live on the streets outside the Xiaotangshan town government from Jan. 18. In the early hours of Feb. 14, Li Qiang and his mother spent their 27th night sleeping outside the town hall. At 2 a.m. that day, an unidentified person in a car passed in front of them and threw a bucket of cold water on them, causing their clothes and bedding to be drenched with cold water.
In a video provided by the neighborhood owner, Li Qiang recounted the circumstances of the attack on him and his mother. Li Qiang said, at that time, there was a white car passing by the entrance of the town hall. The people on the car first foul-mouthed them, and then attacked, “a bucket of water was thrown over. I do not know where to come from the water, are blindfolded. I can’t see the license plate, (the car) ‘ooh’ to run over there, and then I called the police.”
The police station in Xiaotangshan town has issued a “receipt” to Li Qiang, calling the matter “Li Qiang was provoked case”. The incident has provoked a great reaction in the network social groups of the community owners. Some owners said that “there must be close surveillance around the town hall” and that the town hall should be asked to provide surveillance video. Many owners believe that the incident was directed by the government. There are also a number of community owners who said that when they tried to post videos and information about the matter in their WeChat “circle of friends”, they were blocked. Others said that Li Qiang’s children were also in trouble and were evicted from the hotel where they were staying by authorities.
At present, Li Qiang’s mother and children are still sleeping in front of the Xiaotangshan Town Hall, and the identity of the assailant has not yet been determined. They have been offered bedding and hot Food to help them continue their struggle in front of the town hall.
Luo Mingzhu, an owner of the community who now lives in the United States, commented on the incident in an interview with reporters on February 16. She said that Li Qiang and his son were already homeless and were attacked in such a way that “all the bedding (was) splashed with water. This is all happening in the so-called ‘Dragon’s Vein’ of Beijing, the town of Xiaotangshan, 22 kilometers away from Tiananmen Square. What happened here is as unbelievable as a movie and makes us completely lose faith in this country.”
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