Qian Yunhui

On 19/12/2010, a fleet of trucks loaded with crushed rocks were being blocked on the road again. The road was opened on 20/12/2010 after police removed the poles. Delivery of crushed rocks was resumed on 23/12/2010. And on 25/12/2010, Qian was crushed to death under the wheel of one of those trucks.

Within hours of Qian's death, images of his dead body were circulating on Chinese websites such as Sina Weibo, Twitter, Google Buzz while many people expressed their disbelief in the official police explanation on these sites. As one Sina Weibo user wrote: “It’s become the habit of the majority of the people to suspect whatever the government says.”

Yasheng Huang, a MIT professor, stated: “No matter what the truth of Mr. Qian’s death, doesn’t this demonstrate a political crisis, considering the preference of public opinion? If you’re the ruler, shouldn’t you be feeling anxious and concerned? Even if you don’t strive for justice, equality and progress, shouldn’t you start considering (political) system reform simply for the sake of ruling?”

On 18/12/2010, Qian ordered villagers to create a road block using electric power poles, preventing trucks from leaving or entering the power plant.

On 17/12/2010, a fleet of trucks loaded with crushed rocks destined for the power plant were being stopped by the villagers.

Qian Yunhui (Chinese: 钱云会 , 1957 – 25 December 2010), a 53-year-old elected and popular eastern Zhejiang province village head who had a long history of petitioning against alleged abuses by local government, died on December 25, 2010 after being crushed by the front wheel of a truck loaded with crushed rocks for a nearby building site operated by the Yueqing Electric Power Plant. Rumors emerged stating that Qian was held on the ground by four men in security personnel uniforms while the truck was driven slowly over him. A government press conference a week later announced that Qian had died in an ordinary traffic accident, struck and killed crossing the road. An eyewitness by the name of Qian Chengwei (Chinese: 钱成委 ) said that he saw that four uniformed men held the victim down on the ground while the truck went on top of him. The eyewitness had since been arrested and detained by the police. Other eyewitnesses including villager Huang Diyan (Chinese: 黄迪燕 ), claimed she saw four uniformed men with gloves struggle with Qian and then put his body under the front tire by force. The truck's owner/driver, Fei Liangyu (Chinese: 费良玉 ) was detained by the police, along with other villagers who questioned the police's investigation, including Qian's daughter.