Many states in the American South are very tenant-unfriendly, housing is rented "as-is, where-is" and the only remedy available to the tenant when a landlord does not live up to the requirements in the contract is to move out with 14 days notice. This invites abuse, especially if the judge is "business-friendly", too, and if it's a small town where all the landowners know each other.

It's easy to imagine that the abuses in China were even greater, and it's easy to see why many people wouldn't mind their landowner hanging from a streetlight. You could even argue it was justified.