China reports rise in public order disturbances
BEIJING, Jan 19 (Reuters) - China recorded a 6.6 percent increase in public order disturbances last year, further evidence of growing instability that the ruling Communist Party is struggling to curb.
The figure reinforces a Public Security Ministry tally of "mass incidents" which showed a 28 percent rise from 2003 to 2004.
The official Xinhua news agency on Thursday put the total number of public order disturbances, obstructions of justice, gathering of mobs and stirring up of trouble, at 87,000. It gave no further details.
China is grappling with an acknowledged rise in social unrest, sparked by public anger over issues ranging from land grabs without proper compensation and official corruption to a yawning wealth gap.
Two top generals in the People's Armed Police pledged this month to boost the "combat effectiveness" of the country's one-million-strong paramilitary police to curb unrest.
New national emergency response measures require local officials to get news of unrest straight into the hands of central leaders. Cover-ups by local authorities are common to avoid hurting their chances of promotion.
Last year, Hong Kong's Beijing-owned Ta Kung Pao newspaper quoted Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang as saying there were 74,000 "mass incidents" -- or protests in Communist jargon -- in 2004 compared with 58,000 in 2003.
In December, paramilitary police opened fire on residents of Dongzhou village in the southern province of Guangdong protesting against a lack of compensation for land appropriated for a new power plant. The government says three villagers were killed.
An on-site investigation into the shooting by a civil rights campaigner showed that more than 30 villagers were still missing and that their families were worried their bodies may have been cremated.
In a report published on a Web site, www.gmwq.org, the activist accused police of deliberately opening fire, saying it was not the result of misjudgment or mistake.
He contradicted the official version of events that villagers had damaged disputed power plants and attacked police.
This month, a Chinese court sentenced four villagers to up to five years in prison for staging an anti-pollution protest that turned violent in Dongyang in the eastern province of Zhejiang in April last year.
The figure reinforces a Public Security Ministry tally of "mass incidents" which showed a 28 percent rise from 2003 to 2004.
The official Xinhua news agency on Thursday put the total number of public order disturbances, obstructions of justice, gathering of mobs and stirring up of trouble, at 87,000. It gave no further details.
China is grappling with an acknowledged rise in social unrest, sparked by public anger over issues ranging from land grabs without proper compensation and official corruption to a yawning wealth gap.
Two top generals in the People's Armed Police pledged this month to boost the "combat effectiveness" of the country's one-million-strong paramilitary police to curb unrest.
New national emergency response measures require local officials to get news of unrest straight into the hands of central leaders. Cover-ups by local authorities are common to avoid hurting their chances of promotion.
Last year, Hong Kong's Beijing-owned Ta Kung Pao newspaper quoted Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang as saying there were 74,000 "mass incidents" -- or protests in Communist jargon -- in 2004 compared with 58,000 in 2003.
In December, paramilitary police opened fire on residents of Dongzhou village in the southern province of Guangdong protesting against a lack of compensation for land appropriated for a new power plant. The government says three villagers were killed.
An on-site investigation into the shooting by a civil rights campaigner showed that more than 30 villagers were still missing and that their families were worried their bodies may have been cremated.
In a report published on a Web site, www.gmwq.org, the activist accused police of deliberately opening fire, saying it was not the result of misjudgment or mistake.
He contradicted the official version of events that villagers had damaged disputed power plants and attacked police.
This month, a Chinese court sentenced four villagers to up to five years in prison for staging an anti-pollution protest that turned violent in Dongyang in the eastern province of Zhejiang in April last year.
posted by Marko at 1/19/2006 01:05:00 AM
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