A man sprays a fire extinguisher at villagers during a land dispute in Dadong Village, Bobai County, Guangxi, China, on Oct. 9, 2026. Screenshot by The Epoch Times
A confrontation over disputed land in China’s Guangxi region was captured on video on Oct. 9, as villagers tried to stop construction by people they said worked for a property developer.
The dispute took place in Dadong Village, Bobai County, in Yulin, Guangxi.
Videos widely shared online show men spraying a crowd with a fire extinguisher, while a woman stands near an excavator as machinery continues operating on the contested land.
A resident told the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times on Oct. 11 that elderly residents and women were sprayed with the fire extinguisher and pepper spray.
The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said the incident left several people requiring hospital treatment.
She said more than 10 villagers had gone to the site to stop the work, where they faced a group of about 20 to 30 people. Since many younger residents were away from the village, she said, those who went to confront the workers were mainly elderly people and women.
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The Epoch Times could not independently establish the property developer’s identity, the identities of other people involved, or the full circumstances of the confrontation in the video.
The resident said villagers called the police, who arrived at the scene but focused on preventing physical fights rather than stopping the construction.
YesterdayBigcat also cited villagers as saying police did not take action against the people who sprayed the protesters.
The woman further alleged that a villager had been carried away by the opposing group and dumped on the road.
Under the Chinese regime, land disputes leading to forced demolitions happen frequently across the country. Due to the authorities’ record of concealing and manipulating data, it is difficult to determine the total number of such disputes.
No Signed Consent
The Dadong Village resident told The Epoch Times that the disputed land involved many residents, who had neither agreed to give it up nor signed documents consenting to the construction. Although the parties had previously discussed compensation, she said, they failed to reach an agreement.
The woman said one- or two-story buildings had previously been erected by the developer on parts of the site, but the work was never completed. Road construction later took place in the area, and the developer’s side has now returned with heavy machinery.
She added that once the other side occupied the land, villagers felt they had little control over what happened next.
The resident said villagers wanted to appeal to authorities in Nanning, the Guangxi regional capital, or Beijing but had difficulty pursuing their complaints.
She also said local government personnel had visited the site at night, yet construction resumed the following day. The woman speculated that those organizing the work might have connections with local officials.
The Epoch Times could not independently verify the allegations from the information available.
The confrontation appears to be part of a land dispute that has persisted for years. Online footage indicates that a similar clash occurred in the area in January 2019 involving the same tract of land.
Xu Yiyang and Gu Xiaohua contributed to this report.
