ZHANG:
Near Shanghai, China, farmers have been protesting outside the Maqiao Town Hall since December 15. They're calling for compensation for 13,000 acres of land that authorities confiscated to build a sports complex.

But after receiving no response from authorities in Maqiao, about 200 of the farmers traveled to Shanghai on Wednesday to appeal, and they'll have to wait two months for an answer.

One farmer told the Epoch Times that if the Shanghai appeals office couldn't give them an answer, they'd go all the way to Beijing.

Many farmers have been pushed deep in to debt and are unable to support their families without their land or homes. And some farmers were beaten and arrested by police during the December protests.

Protests like these over land confiscation are becoming more and more common throughout China, and authorities often use force—rather than negotiation—to resolve them.