1 Dead, 60 Injured in Hunan Riot
Chinese media reported Tuesday that a student died in a mass riot over a hike in public transportation costs in Zhushan village in Hunan province last week. Nearly 20,000 villagers stormed a government building Friday in protest of the fare hike. According to the South China Morning Post, the transport fees have doubled in Zhushan since Chinese new year last month. The situation turned violent when provincial authorities dispatched 1,700 riot police, dogs and cattle prods to control the crowd. The rioters burned 9 police cars (photo) and threw rocks and other objects at police. The riot continued through the weekend and it was only when the province rushed in 20 truckloads of additional armed police Monday night that the riot subsided. According to an AP report Tuesday:
The protesters in Zhushan were “very, very angry and were shouting ‘Beat the government dogs to death,”‘ Zhang (a local activist) said in a phone interview. They were throwing rocks and bricks at the officers, he said. At least 1,500 paramilitary police and riot police wearing helmets and carrying batons yelled back “Beat them to death,” Zhang said. “They beat everyone including old people, children, women and people who were just passing by,” he said. At least 60 people were injured, Zhang said.
Sounds like a real deal riot. A number of police were injured. These farmers mean business. According to the South China Morning Post, the student who died was in junior high school and was hospitalized Sunday due to injuries. According to the paper, he died on Monday. This comes as Beijing has made countless promises to shrink China’s wealth gap and make life more affordable for the nation’s massive peasantry.
•AP: ‘60 Injured’ in China Protests