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China: China is often seen as a country where people are afraid to speak out against the government and large protests are considered almost impossible. But in recent months, a different picture has been emerging from the villages of China. People in rural areas have now started openly raising their voices on their issues, and the incidents of protest are continuously increasing.
The latest case is from Guizhou province of Southern China, where people have started a big demonstration against the administration. According to reports, protests in rural China have increased by 70 percent compared to last year.
The reports state that the controversy in Shandong city began when local authorities imposed a new rule regarding funerals. According to this rule, now no dead person will be allowed to be buried, and cremation of everyone will be mandatory.
Guizhou is a poor and remote province, where the Miao community lives in large numbers. Their tradition is of burial, not cremation. Now this new rule of the administration is being considered directly against their customs.
The people of the villages are asking the question of how the government can decide how they should perform the last rites of their family members. The anger increased so much that during the demonstration some people even directly targeted President Xi Jinping.
In a video viral on social media, a villager is seen shouting, "If the Communist Party can dig the graves of our ancestors, then dig the graves of Xi Jinping's ancestors first." Making such a statement is considered extremely unusual in a country like China.
According to China Dissent Monitor (CDM), an initiative of Freedom House, 661 demonstrations have been recorded in rural areas of China this year. This number is 70 percent more than in 2024. The CDM recorded nearly 1,400 disturbance incidents in the third quarter of 2025, up 45 percent from the same period last year.
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