From one of NPR’s multi-part series on China:

Three years ago, [Wang Jinshu] and her husband were informed that their house would be demolished for a road-widening project. They were never shown any proper legal permits. And the official plans showed the wider road still lay 30 feet from their house. But their objections got nowhere. The pair were detained, and while they were in custody, their house was torn down. She believes the ordeal was a factor contributing to the deaths of her mother and her father-in-law. Her verdict on the Communist Party is scathing.

“It’s rotten to its roots. They don’t care how many laws they break,” she said.

Anecdotal, yes, but apparently these sorts of stories abound. And just recently, the budget for China’s internal security surpassed that of its armed forces.