Chinese farmers lose land to Stora Enso tree plantations

Villagers complain of strong-arm tactics by local officials

print this

By Petteri Tuohinen
     
      It might have been better if lawyer Yang Zaixin had not answered that telephone call. Yang’s telephone rang just over two weeks ago, on the ninth of April. The call came from an unknown number. The caller asked to meet Yang in the city of Hepu in the south of China.
     The matter concerned a rural village where the land of local residents had been expropriated to be converted into eucalyptus plantations. Yang was asked to defend the rights of the villagers.
      On the following day Yang arrived at the agreed-upon location at a factory that manufactures tin cans. He was met by a group of men who beat Yang, without saying a word.
      Yang spent the next three days recovering in a hospital.
     
Yang fell victim to a conflict between the global economy and local conflicts of interest. The big grower of eucalyptus in the Hepu area in the province of Guangxi is the Finnish-Swedish forest giant Stora Enso, in which the Finnish state is a key shareholder.
      The company is the largest foreign investor in the area. Its aim is to lease 180,000 hectares of land for eucalyptus plantations for half a century.
      It is a massive project. The plantations will affect the lives of about 650,000 people in one way or another.
      The trees form the plantations are to be taken as raw material to the Stora Enso pulp mill near the city of Beihai. The opening ceremonies of the mill were held in December.
     
The project is an important Finnish foreign investment. The value of the of the leases on the plantations alone will be EUR 140 million.
      The confusing land disputes are now causing headaches for Stora Enso. In China, all land belongs to the state, or to rural communities. A foreign company cannot own land, but it can lease it. The procedure is for, Stora Enso to put its request regarding its need for land before local officials. The officials then acquire the land for the needs of the company’s plantations.
      This has led to conflicts in many villages.
     
Yang has taken up the case of local farmers in the matter. The 51-year-old lawyer was born, raised, and studied in Guangxi and feels an affinity with the case.
      “This work is in my blood”, Yang says in Hepu.
      He still has a black eye from the recent beating.
      Yang suspects that officials responsible for forest matters hired the shady men to thrash him.
      “The message was clear: the purpose of the beating was to persuade me to stop my work. However, I will not give up. I am not that easy to crush.”
     
Yang is not sure if Stora Enso knew about the beating.
      “They don’t have to become directly involved in this kind of thing. Stora Enso merely pressures local officials to make sure that the company will get the land that it needs to grow its eucalyptus trees.”
      Stora Enso is aware of Yang’s work. Ten days before the beating incident Yang met with the field manager of Stora Enso and the company’s lawyer and showed them the appeals of residents of five villages in the land disputes. The company representatives said that they do not need Yang’s help.
     
The rural villages north of the city of Hepu are idyllic. The farmers till their soil by hand, wearing conical hats as they work. The weather is hot and humid. The beans and maize in the fields are ripening.
      Outside the village of Huashijang, a large red banner is hung across the road, urging citizens to support the forest project, which promises to bring prosperity and well-being to rural areas.
      Residents of the region speak of the “forest project”. They usually do not even recognise the name of Stora Enso.
     
In the village of Huashijiang it is soon apparent that not everything is as wonderful as it is made out to be.
      The villagers are angry. The local administration and forest officials wanted to take the land used by the villagers already in 2004 and hand them over to Stora Enso for eucalyptus plantations. The residents opposed the plan.
      After that, officials have resorted to force in order to get land for the tree plantations of Stora Enso.
      Wang Qicong points to a location on the edge of the village where his cousin used to grow lychee fruit. This means of livelihood disappeared when the officials expropriated the land. Now the area is full of eucalyptus seedlings.
      A nearby hill is charred by fire. As recently as December, bamboo grew there, which the villagers used to make baskets and other goods. Eucalyptus has been planted there as well.
      “What can we do about it, if the government wants it this way?” Wang asks.
     
About 100 families live in Huashijiang. The area is poor. Average local income is about 2,000 yuan, or EUR 220 a year.
      The compensation offered by the local government is insignificant in the view of the villagers. About EUR 50 a year per hectare has been offered for the expropriated land - for the entire village.
      The locals say that they could get many times that amount if they could grow pine trees, for instance, instead of the eucalyptus.
      The villagers are also angered by the violence perpetrated by the officials, of which they have many stories to tell.
     
As evidence, Wang Qicong brings documents which detail injuries inflicted on his father. His father was diagnosed with a skull fracture after a clash between the villagers and officials over the land dispute. The fight took place in 2005, and Wang’s father died a year later. One of his ears bled.
      There are still signs of violence on the chest of Wang Qijin. He went to defend his grandfather, who was being beaten, and became a victim himself, as two men held him by the arms and one hit him. “I was like a punching bag”, he says.
      Wang Mingcong shows his gums. Officials knocked his teeth out, and now he has a set of crudely-made dentures in their place. Wang says that he was left unable to work. His injuries came in the most recent fight with officials in December.
      The villagers have long tried to prevent the expansion of eucalyptus plantations by planting pine on the land, but the officials have cut down their trees.
      “We do not want any more violence, and therefore we are not opposing the development any more. We have given up”, says one of the villagers.
     
A short drive away is the village of Qiaotou. Here as well the local people talk about beatings. Last year the residents of the village tried to get into the eucalyptus business themselves. They planted eucalyptus on the land that they used, hoping to sell the trees directly to Stora Enso.
      This did not suit the plans of the local officials, who wanted to take care of the dealings with Stora Enso themselves. Twelve villagers were beaten when they defended their seedlings against the officials, local residents say.
      After the clash, the seedlings were uprooted. The officials planted their own in their place in order to deprive the village of arguments to demand the land for themselves.
     
Land disputes are the most frequent cause of clashes between citizens and officials in China. Because of the vagueness of land ownership, and the weakness of the rule of law, it is often unclear who has the right to use land. There is also often a lack of clarity on the boundaries of different plots of land.
      Corrupt civil servants often pocket revenue from the sale of land rights, as well as compensation promised to the farmers.
      It is difficult for citizens who have been mistreated to defend their interests in disputes with the government. The autocratic Communist Party also runs the system of justice, and the media is not independent.
     
A last resort for oppressed Chinese seeking justice is an appeals system with roots in imperial times, in which grievances are brought directly to the highest leader in the capital Beijing.
      When the villagers of Qiaotou were leaving to travel to Beijing to register a complaint, the local officials tried to stop them.
      “We slipped out at dawn without the officials knowing about it”, says Yu Guoqing.
     
Officials in the capital gave a decision on the appeal. According to the decision, the villagers’ matter would not be handled in Beijing.
      “If we give up the land, there will be no need to fear violence. We have no option left than to appeal the situation. However, there is no point in expecting results from the appeal. Stora Enso is taking the rice bowl away from the farmers here”, says a village activist who asked to remain anonymous.
     
The villagers are taking a risk by speaking to foreign journalists.
     Word that Helsingin Sanomat is interested in the problems of the villages in the Hepu region spreads rapidly. Soon the security police call lawyer Yang. The police ask Yang to discourage the guests from moving on to Beihai, where the officials involved in the dispute are located.
     
In Beihai an official of the local administration, Dou Xingming receives guests in his office. Dou speaks with enthusiasm how important the Stora Enso investment is for the region. Serving the Finnish investors is important for the local officials. Stora Enso’s investments are expected to bring in thousands of jobs and significant flows of money. When the pulp mill is in operation, the taxes paid by Stora Enso alone will increase the region’s tax revenue by half.
      Dou gives assurances that Stora Enso will certainly get all of the land that it needs for its trees.
      The local offices of Stora Enso are one floor below.
     
Dou admits that there have been land conflicts over the Stora Enso project. He says that they have all been handled in accordance with the law, and the farmers have been paid fair compensation.
      “No wrongdoings have emerged. Everything has been dealt with on a volunteer basis. It would not have been possible otherwise. No violence has been used”, Dou insists.
     
But the villagers have complained about violence.
      “If something like that has happened, it is because the farmers have started to regret the contracts that they agreed to, and then force has been resorted to.
      Dou has not heard about the beating of lawyer Yang Zaixin.
      “I am not worried about the matter. I am sure that China is on the road to a just society. This forest project has been implemented smoothly and according to law.”
      Later officials from Dou’s office call. They promise to investigate the violence and hold a press conference on the matter, if necessary.
     
Stora Enso is one of about 260 Finnish companies that is seeking profit from the growing Chinese market. Asia has the world’s biggest market for paper.
      With its approximately 1.3 billion inhabitants, China consumes 55 kg. of paper a year per person. In North America, per capita paper consumption is 280 kg. a year. The prospect of serving a growing market is attractive, as the increasing prosperity in the country boosts the consumption of paper.
     Foreign operations is vital for Stora Enso. When the company presented its quarterly results on Thursday, CEO Jouko Karvinen said that considerable profits abroad helped cover losses made in Finland.
     
In the Guangxi forest project Stora Enso has said that it aims at acting responsibly. The company asked the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to make an assessment of the environmental and social impacts of its plantations.
     The assessment, compiled in 2005-2006 concluded that the plantations do not involve any “significant environmental or social factors that could nave a negative effect on the tree plantation project in Guangxi.”
      Stora Enso has 750 employees in Guangxi. In addition, the company has 2,000-3,000 seasonal workers. Only a few of the employees are Finnish citizens.
     
The head of sustainable development for the Stora Enso forest project, Latvian citizen Maris Zudrags is happy to meet with the journalists.
      Zudrags says that the company has invested much in the well-being of local residents. There are 11 people working at the local sustainable development section, and even a social scientist has been hired.
      Stora Enso has also invested in 50 projects to support local communities.
      Zudrags shows the village of Hanma, where Stora Enso supports the education of farmers there.
     
Today there is a lesson in fighting plant diseases. There are more villagers than seats.
      “Stora Enso is a good company, because it supports us. We have no land disputes here”, says Shi Dianqiang, as Zudrags listens.
      But what does Stora Enso say about the beatings reported by residents of other villages.
      Zudrags has not heard about the cases, and emphasises that the use of force or violence are not among the principles of Stora Enso, and notes that the company has made this clear to local officials as well. So is Stora Enso responsible for the violence, if the events are linked with the company?
      “In a general sense, yes”, Zudrags concedes after a moment of thought.
      “Although the cases are not our doing, we need to take responsibility for them.”
     
According to the annual report of Stora Enso, the tree plantations in Guangxi are “cared for responsibly”. The plantations promote “local well-being”, the company says.
      However, the declarations do not help the toothless Wang Mingcong or the fatherless Wang Qicong.
      The social goals of big international corporations sound wonderful, but in a global business, the chain of responsibility becomes somewhat vague. It is easy to hide behind the backs of subcontractors, local partners, or officials, and to wash one’s hands of responsibility.
      It is hard to say who is right in the conflicts of the Hepu region. Villagers blame officials, and indirectly Stora Enso, for the seizure of their land and unjust treatment they have endured. Stora Enso and the local officials say that they act according to the law and responsible business practice. Nevertheless, they also say that they have not even heard about the violence that has the villages up in arms.
     
What kind of responsibility is borne by the Finnish state, and other Finnish entities which own a quarter of Stora Enso. The owners include the Social Insurance Institution (KELA) and the State Pension Fund.
      In Finland, the company Solidiium handles matters related to state investments.
      “As an owner, Solidium, like all significant international and domestic institutional investors, expect the companies to show responsible and lawful activities and lthe adoption of best practice in the broad sense”, says Solidium CEO Kari Järvinen.
     
So what does Stora Enso plan to do? Sustainable development director Zudrags has studied the matter and sends an e-mail. Zudrags concedes that Stora Enso is party to disputes in the village of Qiaotou, among others. It is the place where 12 locals were beaten, and where the villagers organised a trip to Beijing to complain. Zudrags says that the disputes are being handled in the company’s “conflict resolution process”.
      Zudrags first avoids confronting the land disputes of Huashijiang, saying that Stora Enso is “not directly involved” in them. After a few questions, Zudrags concedes that the company has 50 hectares of forest plantation land there, but that the company is not a party to any violence.
     
Stora Enso’s assurances do not impress lawyer Yang, who says that the company should act more responsibly in its territory, by paying fair compensation to the villagers for the use of the land, to obey the law, and not to resort to “brutal actions”.
      The police have still not caught those who beat Yang.
     
Maris Zudrags says that there is no evidence that the lawyer’s beating was the work of Stora Enso or its Chinese partners. “We have asked the local administration and the police for more information, and we are waiting for their answer.”
      So Stora Enso is asking for a report from the very officials that the lawyer is blaming for organising the beating that he got.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 26.4.2009

More on this subject:
 Finnish Prime Minister wants investigation into claims of violence linked with Stora Enso activities in China

See also:
  Stora Enso to investigate land use dispute over tree plantations in China (28.4.2009)

PETTERI TUOHINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
petteri.tuohinen@hs.fi