Villager's act of violence a cry of desperation

People watch a house being demolished in Wenling cityk, Zhejiang province, after its owner reached an agreement with the local government. [For China Daily]

VILLAGERS IN Xuegang village, Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province in Central China, paid homage to Fan Huapei on Wednesday, a 36-year-old man killed by police gunfire one day after he stabbed three men to death in a conflict over the forced demolition of his home. Ifeng.com commented on Thursday:

In the context of forced demolitions, there is not much that makes this one a special case. But the desperate have their own path.

The limited disclosure of information by the local government reveals a significant change in its relocation policy and compensation standards, which meant even less compensation was being paid to villagers such as Fan Huapei－not enough to build a new house－and there was no "resettlement before demolition" as required by State regulations.

Cutting off the water and electricity supply to force Fan from his home were the final triggers for the tragedy.

By resorting to violence, the desperate show they feel helplessness and unable to change their fate.

It's a cruel way to give the whole society a wake-up call.

Every extreme behavior is often accompanied by the collapse of a person's belief in the system.

More and more people are losing patience as they have no say in the demolitions and feel they can only be heard through violence.