China Protesters Block Railway Lines
Posted by chinaview on March 23, 2007
BBC News, 22 March 2007-
Hundreds of demonstrators blocked key railway lines in eastern China in protest at threats to their benefits, state media has reported.
More than 200 protesters, and several hundred onlookers, descended on two lines near Guixi in Jiangxi province.
They were protesting at planned zoning changes in Guixi which could impact on income and benefits, the reports said.
Protests, particularly in rural China, have become increasingly common as the gap between rich and poor has widened.
Many of the protests have been linked to land seizures and corruption among local officials.
Some 20,000 people clashed with police in central Hunan province last week after protesting at an attempt by a bus company to double the price of tickets.
Reports that one person had died were denied by the authorities.
Popular route
In the latest incident, protesters arrived at the railway station in Guixi shortly before noon on Wednesday, the state news agency Xinhua said.
They blocked two railway lines, including a heavily-used track that links Shanghai in the east to Kunming, the capital of south-western Yunnan province.
The protest went on for at least four hours before it was broken up by police and officials who had been called to the scene, the reports said.
The protesters were voicing their anger at a plan to place parts of Guixi under the control of a different district, which would have an impact on benefits.
“They worried that the re-division would affect their salaries and welfare,” the Xinhua report said.
- original report from BBC
This entry was posted on March 23, 2007 at 9:47 pm and is filed under China, Economy, Incident, Jiangxi, Law, Life, News, People, Politics, Protest, Rural, SE China, Social, South China, income, transport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
China - a repressive polluted regime « Robs Place said
[...] got a graphic glimpse of the rioting recently in Hunan last week. The crackdown on the 20,000 or so demonstrators was incredibly vicious, yet remarkably, a BBC TV reporter was allowed to film it. You can be sure [...]
rob-thompson.com » China - a repressive polluted regime said
[...] got a graphic glimpse of the rioting recently in Hunan last week. The crackdown on the 20,000 or so demonstrators was incredibly vicious, yet remarkably, a BBC TV reporter was allowed to film it. You can be sure [...]
China - a repressive polluted regime | learnsigma said
[...] got a graphic glimpse of the rioting recently in Hunan last week. The crackdown on the 20,000 or so demonstrators was incredibly vicious, yet remarkably, a BBC TV reporter was allowed to film it. You can be sure [...]
China - a repressive polluted regime | rob-thompson.com said
[...] the outside world got a graphic glimpse of the rioting in Hunan. The crackdown on the 20,000 or so demonstrators was incredibly vicious, yet remarkably, a BBC TV reporter was allowed to film it. You can be sure [...]