Schwere Proteste im südchinesischen Dongzhou

In Südchina ist eine schwere Revolte ausgebrochen, gegen die Sicherheitskräfte hart vorgehen. Es gibt bereits mehrere Tote:

Heavily armed riot police tightened their grip on a village in southern Guangdong province today after fatally shooting residents earlier in the week who were protesting a power project, villagers and human rights groups said. The state media have released no information on the incident in Dongzhou village, and a police cordon has blocked access. If the number of deaths is confirmed, however, this would be among the deadliest known incidents of official force used against Chinese citizens since the military fired on protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Local protests have increased in China, many involving land seizures, labor disputes and corruption. In most cases, local authorities manage to end them through intimidation, concessions or arrests. "They killed 10 farmers," said a 39-year-old resident reached by telephone, who would identify himself only by his surname, Chuang. "I saw several people near me shot in the chest…. Even during the occupation, the Japanese weren't this bad. Now our own police are killing people." Other residents put the number of dead between two and 20, and said several dozen were missing in the village of 10,000. Residents said more than 500 protesters, some carrying sticks, had gathered in front of government offices Tuesday about 10 p.m., frustrated at not receiving compensation for land seized to build a wind power plant. The discontent had been brewing for months. But after authorities sought to detain protest leaders, the crowd tried to block police cars from moving into the village, said farmers who participated in the demonstration. Police then fired tear gas and live ammunition, they said. Protesters scattered, the participants said. One farmer scoffed at reports that police opened fire after protesters set off explosive devices. "We're just farmers," said the farmer, who identified himself only as Lin. "How could we possibly have explosives?" Other participants said they were unsure about any explosives, given the confusion. Provincial and local officials and police in Dongzhou and neighboring Shanwei city declined to comment.

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