Tower Defence

June 8, 2010 11:25 AM

Last year, Yang Youde learned that his land had been requisitioned. Since the compensation terms for breaking the contract had not been settled, he has refused to move out. "The evictors said many times that they will move on me." Earlier this year, Yang took measures to protect himself. He took a hand-truck and removed the front. Then he put in a set of rockets for use as an artillery battery.
posted by Artw (34 comments total)

That dude looks nothing like Schwarzeneggar.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:27 AM on June 8, 2010

He should build a wall around his land to keep out the invaders.

It wouldn't need to be a great wall, just good enough.
posted by mattdidthat at 11:32 AM on June 8, 2010 [4 favorites]

So long as he doesn't excavate a series of bunkers...
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:40 AM on June 8, 2010

I think the Tea Party has just found a communist it can get behind.
posted by oneironaut at 11:40 AM on June 8, 2010 [3 favorites]

God damn Mongolians trying to tear down my city wall!
posted by msbutah at 11:43 AM on June 8, 2010 [3 favorites]

After the rockets were all fired off, they came out and administered a thrashing on Yang. But they did not bulldoze the house immediately.

This is the kind of tactical blunder that Genghis Kahn wouldn't make.
posted by DU at 11:44 AM on June 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Seriously? Is this guy starting a land war in Asia?
posted by GuyZero at 11:46 AM on June 8, 2010 [30 favorites]

I think it's okay if you're Asian. Europeans, well, we don't do so well at that.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:46 AM on June 8, 2010

Ahm, I think he started a land SKIRMISH. I think a war requires actual troops. Minimum 50 troops. Anything less is just an angry mob.
posted by spicynuts at 11:54 AM on June 8, 2010

There's a lot of missing context here -- I'm guessing that Yang is, inter alia, an anticorruption activist of some sort? The slogans he's posted are ideological rather than demagogical, and the sentiments behind them at least (i.e., public power should not abused for private profit, as is all too common in China) are ones I can get behind.

So is he a Good Guy Defending Tenants' Rights, or just a Bad Guy with Homemade Rockets? For the record, he's a badass either way.
posted by a small part of the world at 11:56 AM on June 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

I think a war requires actual troops. Minimum 50 troops. Anything less is just an angry mob.

I dunno, I mean, ya know... ROCKET LAUNCHERS and all. Ain't no mob with homemade ROCKET LAUNCHERS.
posted by GuyZero at 11:59 AM on June 8, 2010

My Chinese is terrible (please correct me) but an English speaking Chinese friend told me that they should change the name of the country to Chai-ná (拆-那) or "tear this one down."
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 12:07 PM on June 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

If they come, you will build it!

He just needs 3 more friends and then it'll be A-Team time.
posted by yeloson at 12:14 PM on June 8, 2010

I think the Tea Party has just found a communist it can get behind.

No way. Everything from China is tainted with communism.
posted by homunculus at 12:17 PM on June 8, 2010

Who was it who said "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun?"

He'd better be careful or he could ignite a Peoples' Revolution.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 12:20 PM on June 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

...and that's no dinner party, in case you were wondering.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 12:22 PM on June 8, 2010

Building improvised rocket launchers, homemade tower, standing vigil to repel enforces, this is totally A-team, and A-team kicks ass.
Except for not having a couple of badass -ex-military friends.
Except for going against the government.
Except for going against the government in china.
So he will have problems 'winning', but what a show.

And BTW, what kind of asshat official learns of the first failed attempt, then orders the same thing, except with 100 hench Men!
posted by uni verse at 12:29 PM on June 8, 2010

*swoons*
posted by nathancaswell at 12:38 PM on June 8, 2010

He has also set up a couch on the cannon tower so that he can be on vigil twenty-four hours a day.

HAX
posted by jquinby at 12:39 PM on June 8, 2010

He's not exactly going against the government - the police chased off the evictors after he initially repelled them. Sounds like the government is kind of looking the other way on both the actions of Yang and of the evictors.
posted by ignignokt at 12:39 PM on June 8, 2010

I want to say something like go out hard like a motherfucker, Yang, but FFS he's just half a step above Kirk fighting the Gorn, there.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:41 PM on June 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

The police came and chased away the evictors? Sounds like someone at provincial headquarters is out of the loop on this one! Woops!

I sure we get some follow up on this story.
posted by Xoebe at 12:46 PM on June 8, 2010

Sounds like the government is kind of looking the other way on both the actions of Yang and of the evictors.

Or bribing part of the government turns out not to get you all of the government.
posted by Artw at 12:53 PM on June 8, 2010

1. Call the free helpline;
2. Speak to the call centre manager;
3. Call up a family member with some experience in law;
4. Visit the local office of the relevant Government department with that experienced family member;
5. Visit the local office of the relevant Government department with a lawyer;
6. Write a letter to my local representative (or ombudsman);
7. Build an artillery battery.
posted by doublehappy at 1:47 PM on June 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

This reminds me of the movie Harry's War.
posted by hanoixan at 2:13 PM on June 8, 2010

This reminds me of the movie Dawn of the Dead. I want dudes like this on my side when the zombopocalypse comes.
posted by jtron at 2:29 PM on June 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

The industrialization of China is looking more and more like the continuation of the Cultural Revoluton by the same means.
posted by jamjam at 2:53 PM on June 8, 2010

kind of ha ha but not really. Considering that it's very rare to actually own farmland in China (not really that weird when you consider their history) and that bribing the police or local government to look the other way is tremendously easy, this kind of thing happens on a daily basis, although most of the time the headline reads more like "local farmer found in ditch". China passed its first "modern" private property law in 2007(!)

Look up "nail house" for more info.

This makes me more angry than usual. You shouldn't have to stay up 24/7 to protect your house from bandits in a modern society.
posted by concreteforest at 5:18 PM on June 8, 2010

“In times past, loyalty to the cause of the populace was to be found everywhere. The will of the Group of Seventeen was the will of everyone.”
“Once upon a time…”

“The people meeting in counsel may judge, but no one is to receive more than a hundred blows.”
“He complained, and they beat him.”

“How are the hands nourished? By the blood. How does the blood reach the hands? By the veins. If the veins are closed, the hands will rot away.”
“He left that farm and took to the roads.”

“Where the Group of Seventeen sit, there final justice is done.”
“He went to the capital and complained of the way he had been treated.”

-Book of the New Sun
posted by Sebmojo at 5:31 PM on June 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

This reminds me of a story told by a guy I know who was busted for running a meth lab out of his house. When the Federal agents broke down his front door they found a .50 caliber machine gun mounted to the floor in front of a couch & facing the door. After a fairly peaceful arrest (I believe they caught him sleeping), they asked him why he had a .50 caliber machine gun nailed to the floor in front of his couch. His reply was simple: "Becuse it's the only thing that'll go through your body armor".
posted by scalefree at 6:55 PM on June 8, 2010

"His reply was simple: 'Becuse it's the only thing that'll go through your body armor'."

Don't you just love how uniformed the criminal element so often is, even in areas of their "profession"?
posted by Mitheral at 9:04 PM on June 8, 2010

It was 15 years ago when I was told the story. I'm pretty sure the bullets would've shredded the armor of the day.
posted by scalefree at 9:10 PM on June 8, 2010

I'm pretty sure they would have too; pretty well any rifle bullet bigger than a .22lr will penetrate even Class III body armour. A few full conversion AR-15s are way cheaper than the machine gun. Just buying the ammo for the 50 cal is going to be an order of magnitude more expensive than for a more reasonable rifle.
posted by Mitheral at 10:07 PM on June 8, 2010

The sad ending of the "homemade cannon" farmer story
posted by homunculus at 9:16 AM on July 6, 2010