Will the Boat Sink the Water?: The Life of China's Peasants (6 page)

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is just a game. Even if there is any arresting to do, it’s up to the local security.”

“Don’t be so sure!” retorted Ding Yanle fiercely.

Ding Zuoming had always despised those creatures that put on a swagger the minute they are in power. He was not at all impressed by Ding Yanle’s boast, but seeing that the fellow was trying to pick a fight, he kept silent.

Ding Yanle, getting no response, started to shove Ding Zuoming, saying, “What! You want to fight! Come on, come on!” Ding never imagined that a deputy village chief would stoop so low. He started to walk away, but Ding Yanle followed hard on his heels, and attempted to shove Ding with his shoulder. Ding Zuoming hastily backed off, the shove fell short of the mark, and Ding Yanle landed in the field near by. Now at last

Ding Yanle found the excuse that he was looking for.

Of course Ding Zuoming knew that he had ruffled a few feathers in high places, and had expected retaliation sooner or later. But the lowdown trick that he had just witnessed was beneath contempt, and he walked away in disgust.

As expected, the matter was not over for Ding Yanle. Later the same afternoon, he went six times to the home of Ding Zuoming howling for revenge, claiming that the latter had beaten him up. Ding Zuoming’s wife, having no idea what had happened, kept apologizing, but Ding Yanle would have none of it. One of his sons even brought a meat cleaver to Ding Zuoming’s home and shouted threats.

That same night of February 11, the villagers persuaded Ding Zuoming to leave home for a while. Ding was not one to be intimidated by bullying, but he considered the situation: When he and the other men went to present their petition to the county two days before, on February 9, the newly installed county Party head, Dai Wenhu, had promised to order the audit that

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they had petitioned for, so it was just a matter of time. Not wishing to divert attention from the main issue, Ding swal-lowed his pride and left Luying Village at dawn the next morning. Predictably, just at dawn Ding Yanle brought his whole family to Ding Zuoming’s place, out for his blood. Not finding him, Ding Yanle left, proclaiming, “Yesterday Ding Zuoming wounded me with his blows. I need to go to the hospital!” The village Party boss, Dong Yingfu, who had lain low throughout all the commotion, now made a show of helping take Ding Yanle to the hospital.

At that point, Ding Yanle’s wife, Sun, who ran the village family-planning program, went to the head of the township, Kang Zichang, and the deputy Party boss, Ren Kaicai, and handed in a formal accusation against Ding Zuoming: her husband, Ding Yanle, “had implemented the one-child policy overzealously and had offended Ding Zuoming, who stopped him on a village path and beat him up.”

Kang and Ren were more than happy to see this trumped-up charge against Ding Zuoming. They had already received a firm order from their superiors at the county to form a working group to check the financial records of Luying Village, an order that, obviously, reflected badly on their own leadership. The group must include those who had made the complaints. It was obvious to Kang and Ren that Ding Zuoming was the ring-leader who had brought matters to a head. Kang and Ren lost no time in directing the township security force to take action on the accusation against Ding Zuoming. And the township security, being a tool of the township bosses, in turn wasted not a moment before sending out a notice for Ding Zuoming to report to their office immediately.

By the time Ding Zuoming received the summons on the fateful morning of February 21, he had not only come out of hiding

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but had on the previous morning been invited to attend a meeting at the township, where the word was out that the auditing should start the very next day. Ding was perplexed by the summons from the township security. He could only surmise that it was Ding Yanle up to one of his tricks again. But Ding felt sure that once the audit got going, all the abuses in Luying Village would be brought to light. As for himself, Ding had nothing to hide. He walked out of the house and made for the township security office with a light step, which is where our story first started.

What happened inside the security office on the day of February 21 after Ding Zuoming walked in was never made public, but after the case was closed, there was an internal report, which we were able to acquire for this investigation.

According to this report, the minute Ding Zuoming stepped into the office, the deputy chief of township security, Peng Zhizhong, barked at him, “How dare you attack Ding Yanle?” “I never attacked him, I’ve never attacked anyone!” Ding

protested.

The accusation and the denial were repeated back and forth over and over again. Peng’s logic was “If you did not attack Ding Yanle, why would his wife make those accusations to the township?” Ding Zuoming replied, “If anyone present at the scene that day, even a child, testified that I attacked Ding Yanle, I would take the consequences.”

Peng lost patience and pronounced sentence: “One, you must pay 280.50 yuan for Ding Yanle’s medical bills. Two, you must use a cart to fetch Ding Yanle back from the hospital on a township market day.”

Of course Ding Zuoming would not accept the preposterous sentence. He had picked up some knowledge of legal proce—

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dures from his constant reading of newspapers, and he said, “I never attacked Ding Yanle. I can appeal your sentence.”

Peng was enraged. He pointed his finger at Ding Zuoming and shouted, “I can have you arrested this very minute!”

Ding replied, “Even if your ‘sentence’ can stand, mine is not a criminal offense. And even if you hold me in detention, you must give a reason for detention within twenty-four hours.”

Peng retorted, “Good, I will detain you for twenty-three-and-a-half-hours. After that, if you refuse to pay up, I will detain you for another twenty-three-and-a-half-hours. This will go on until you pay.” At this, he called to three security hirelings, Zhu Chuanji, Ji Hongli, and Zhao Jinxi, and told them to take Ding to the “detention cell.” The government had passed clear-cut rules forbidding the local security from setting up such cells.

Against Ding Zuoming’s protests, Peng said to the three men, “The lout has no manners. Too spirited. Soften him up a bit.” Then he retired.

The three men knew what was meant by “softening up.” One of the men present, Zhu, had been Ding’s classmate in high school and now sneaked out to avoid a personal confrontation. But he knew that Boss Peng would never be satisfied unless they could break Ding, so before leaving, he suggested that the other two try the “horse’s walk,” one of their cruelest forms of torture.

Ji and Zhao dragged Ding Zuoming from the cell into an unused reception room to do the “horse’s walk.”* Of course Ding resisted. Despite having spent twelve years in school, Ding was no pale scholar. Having been toughened by years of farm work, he was more than a handful for Ji and Zhao, who could hardly subdue him, not to mention doing the horse’s walk. Just then another security man, Wang Jinjun, came in with a club. Ji and Zhao clamored that Ding Zuoming was attacking them, so

*The “horse’s walk” is a local invention on which no specific information is available.

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Wang raised his club and struck Ding right and left. Ding tried to defend himself, but was hit repeatedly on the arms and the back. Although he was groaning in pain, he would not give in. Ding resisted the “horse’s walk,” and Wang beat him mercilessly with the club. When the club split, he kicked Ding and used an electric prodder to get him to a kneeling position. When Wang, exhausted, stopped the beating, Ji picked up the stump of a broken shoulder pole* and continued where Wang had left off.

By now Ding Zuoming had stopped moaning. He was filled with shock and fear when he realized that as long as he did not “soften up,” these thugs would kill him. But he still would not give in. Glaring at Ji, Zhao, and Wang, he shouted at the top of his voice, “True, I accused the village cadres. They are bleeding the peasants. It’s against Party policy. Kill me, but I won’t give in. If you kill me, my ghost will haunt you all!” Ji looked up and met Ding Zuoming’s bloodshot eyes and the piece of wood slipped from his hand. This enraged Wang, who screamed hysterically, “You spineless bastard! Afraid of him! How dare he talk big in this place!” Goaded, Ji picked up the stump and went after Ding again. Meanwhile Zhao took a dirty rag and stuffed Ding’s mouth. The three men continued hitting Ding for another twenty minutes.

By chance, the political director of the township security was home on sick leave; he was alerted about the commotion in his domain and came to interfere, putting a stop to the violence.

*A shoulder pole is a length of wood or bamboo five or six feet long that is balanced across the shoulders and is still used by Chinese villagers today to carry anything and everything: from sacks of grain to baskets of produce or piglets bound for market—even small children.

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