Word: liang
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...dirt under their fingernails, these men were trying to blend in with the well-dressed crowds in China's capital. But one look and you could tell they were poor peasants in unfamiliar city clothes. Their shirts all had identical shirt-box creases. One peasant, an apple grower named Liang Yumin, tugged at his neck throughout our conversation, fingering the piece of cardboard still tucked under his collar...
...weeks ago, the Qixia men contacted me again. Liang Yumin, the villager who had neglected to remove the cardboard from his collar six years ago, had committed suicide. Over the years, Liang had been jailed and beaten. Any time he needed help from a government bureau, he faced obstruction. Liang told a friend that he wished he had never run for office. He cursed himself for having been popular enough to win. With no end to the mistreatment in sight, Liang told one friend he was considering drastic measures. On Nov. 25, he killed himself by swallowing pills...
...Baozhong, the farmer whose arm was crippled, told me of Liang's suicide, I wondered aloud if speaking to me would only bring more trouble. Yu had already been jailed once after I met with him. But he continued talking. "I tell you, English-language journalist," he said, "I cannot accept what they have done to us. Even if it takes 10 years or 20 years, I will keep fighting...
...Earlier this month, the Qixia men contacted me again. Liang Yumin, who had neglected to remove the cardboard from his collar at my office five years ago, had committed suicide. He had told friends he could no longer face the abuse from local officials. Over the years, Liang had been jailed and beaten. Any time he needed official authorization - to sell his crops to the local cooperative, or to send his kids to school - he faced obstruction. Liang told a friend he wished he had never run for office. He cursed himself for having been popular enough to win. With...
...Baozhong, the farmer whose arm was crippled by a previous beating, told me of Liang's suicide, I heard someone screaming at him in the background. It was his wife, and she was telling him to get off the phone. Talking to me would only bring more trouble. Already, Yu had been jailed once and not been given the land usually apportioned to Qixia families when they have a child. Money was tight. But Yu kept talking. "I tell you, English-language journalist," he said, "I cannot accept what they have done to us. Even if if takes 10 years...