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'Thousands riot' in China protest

'Thousands riot' in China protest

Several people were injured as up to 20,000 people clashed with 1,000 police in Hunan province on Friday, a local official told Reuters news agency.

The Boxun Chinese news website said the clash was sparked by rising public transport costs.

At least nine police cars were burnt during the clashes, the Boxun report said.

Zhan Zilin, an eyewitness and a local activist, told the BBC Chinese Service that "the authorities sent over about 1,000 armed police, special police and local police and attempted to cordon off the roads in front of the local police station and government buildings".

He said the police were confronted by protesters and "large-scale conflicts broke out".

The Reuters news agency reported that police were armed with guns and electric cattle prods.

Posted by Andy on March 13, 2007 11:04 AM |

Comments

I ain't payin' two kuai to ride on no stinkin' bus! Seriously, though. This is where things start. Simple everyday things that actually effect people's daily lives. If those people had actually had some say in the bus fare hike, there wouldn't have been riots. Peaceful protests maybe, some growling and moaning...but Jesus turning over cop cars? I think that's something that would only happen in a dictatorship, where people are already fed up with tons of other things and finally just flip out over something litte. but I guess that kind of thing could/has happen/ed in the US or England. The real question now is: How many straws does it take to break the camel's back?

Posted by: K Slim | March 14, 2007 04:41 PM

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