The libel trial against the authors of the best-selling An Investigation into China’s Peasantry （中国农民调查） is ongoing in Anhui Province, SCMP reports: “Defence lawyer Pu Zhiqiang accused officials of using the court to suppress criticism of them. ‘In the four days of the trial, we saw the entire leadership of Linquan county under Mr Zhang,’ he said. ‘It is a battle between a party of people with vested interests and the farmers.
‘If these officials in Linquan are so arrogant in the court, what would they be like when they face the farmers?’ he said, referring to many occasions when officials refused to answer lawyers’ questions. ”
The full story is available via Asia Media.
