Like thousands of peasant activists, the three Mr. Wangs raised funds, petitioned township, county, provincial and national officials, and got some redress.

The three Mr. Wangs were celebrated as a new breed of peasant activist.

"It was once our land, and now we have to apply to work there," says Li Chang, a local peasant activist.

Harassment and abuses against peasant activists have become common.

Other notable initial members included the agrarian peasant activists Bogumił Labusz and Gustaw Leyding.

One of peasant activists from the area of Sandomierz wrote later: "In every village there was a strike committee, with deputies in case of arrests.

However, it strengthened the Polish peasant movement, and was seen by the peasant activist as a successful demonstration of force.

It was "brutality of the utmost barbarity against workers, students and peasant activists," according to Giles.

Under the leadership of Zhang Youren, a peasant activist, the farmers organised a petition.

This included the destruction of peasant activists' possessions, the selling and killing of horses for fear they would be seized, and farmers' refraining from field work.