The Independent (London)
June 14, 2006

‘An energetic, engaging man, [Fu Xiancai’s] activism annoys local officials intensely. After we met in March, I was detained and questioned for hours by police, made to sign a confession and hand over my notes and photo memory card.

Fu Xiancai, a brave campaigner for the rights of people displaced by China’s Three Gorges Dam, lies paralysed with a broken neck. He was attacked by thugs on the way home from a meeting with police officials unhappy with his contact with foreign journalists, human rights activists said. Mr Fu has lobbied provincial governments and local officials since the 1990s to secure compensation for some of the million people resettled to make way for the 185-metre high dam, which opened last month. An energetic, engaging man, his activism annoys local officials intensely. After we met in March, I was detained and questioned for hours by police, made to sign a confession and hand over my notes and photo memory card. … I first met Fu Xiancai during a visit to the village of Maoping, in the shadow of the mighty dam, when I was talking to villagers about the project. … "We’ve nothing against the project, it’s a good dam. But we want our compensation. I don’t have a job as such. I try to help people fight for their compensation rights. My income comes from the local people."