[Onthebarricades] CHINA Addendum, Sept 2008

[global resistance roundup]

* Hunan, Xiangxi/Jishou - Furious protest over pyramid scheme
* Ningbo - workers clash with police
* Wuhan - protest over soccer player suspension

http://news.morningstar.com/newsnet/ViewNews.aspx?article=/DJ/200809050333DOWJONESDJONLINE000392_univ.xml

Armed Police Sent To Quell Protest In Central China9-5-08 3:33 AM EDT | 
E-mail Article | Print Article
BEIJING (AFP)--Hundreds of armed police were dispatched to central China 
to quell a demonstration by furious crowds demanding their money back 
from a fund- raising scheme, the local government said Friday.

The protest began Wednesday in Hunan province and gathered momentum 
Thursday, blocking traffic and delaying trains, but all had returned to 
normal by Friday, according to a witness and the government of Xiangxi 
prefecture.
"The railway station is open today, but yesterday it was blocked by 
people," a receptionist at the Tianlu Hotel next to the station in 
Jishou City, who could not be named for fear of reprisal, said Friday.
According to the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and 
Democracy, the crowd swelled to 10,000 people, but local authorities 
refused to comment when contacted by phone.
The center said 5,000 soldiers and armed police had been dispatched to 
control the crowd, leading to 20 arrests with 50 people injured.
The protest is the latest in a series of confrontations over social 
issues in China, where tens of thousands of riots erupt each year, many 
of which emanate from grievances over abuse of power, corruption or land 
grabs.
In June, tens of thousands of people rioted in southwest Guizhou 
province over claims police had covered up an alleged rape and murder of 
a teenage girl.
The government said in a statement on its Web site it brought in armed 
police to disperse the crowd in Jishou, but failed to mention how many, 
adding no one was hurt and that car and rail traffic had returned to 
normal by Friday.
It said it had taken "coercive measures" on nine protesters, but it was 
unclear whether these people had been detained.
Photos of the protest were widely available on popular web portals in 
China, depicting a strong armed police force standing behind shields on 
railway lines and on the roads.
Locals in the city took to the streets on Wednesday to ask the 
government to intervene after a firm failed to pay back money it owed 
them, the local government said in its statement.
A crowd formed at the city's railway station on Wednesday evening, but 
soon dispersed, according to the statement.
On Thursday morning, the protesters gathered again on the streets and at 
the railway station, blocking car and rail traffic.
"There are still lots of police at the station today, but there are less 
locals than yesterday," the hotel receptionist said.
The local government said the people responsible for the fund-raising 
company, called Fuda Real Estate Company, were under investigation.









http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7600762.stm

Friday, 5 September 2008 16:10 UK
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Printable version

Protests in two Chinese cities

The Chinese government is reported to have sent thousands of soldiers 
and police to quell unrest in the central province of Hunan.
Up to 10,000 people took to the streets in Jishou to demand money back 
from an allegedly fraudulent fundraising firm, a Hong Kong-based rights 
group said.
In another protest in the eastern port of Ningbo, 10,000 workers clashed 
with police, the group added.
Social unrest is common in China, but rarely on this scale.
Confronting police
The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy 
said that, in both protests, violent clashes erupted between angry 
crowds and local authorities.
In Jishou 50 people were injured in rioting, and police arrested 20 
people, the group said.
According to Xinhua news agency, the protesters blocked roads and trains 
to demand that the government take action after a fundraising company 
"failed to pay them back as promised".
The Jishou government admitted in a statement that armed police were 
drafted in to disperse the crowds, but did not mention if anyone was hurt.
In the second incident, thousands of migrant workers confronted police 
in Ningbo to protest about the injury of a man in a local factory.
The protests are the latest in a series of confrontations over social 
issues in China - many of which stem from grievances over alleged 
corruption and local authorities' abuse of power.
In June, thousands of people rioted in Guizhou province over claims that 
police had covered up the rape and murder of a girl.






http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1428984.php/Police_quell_more_riots_in_east_south_China_

Police quell more riots in east, south China
Asia-Pacific News
Sep 5, 2008, 10:35 GMT
Beijing - Riot police have quelled two violent protests by thousands of 
people in southern and eastern China, in the latest of several recent 
clashes between ordinary residents and local authorities, officials and 
a rights group said on Friday.
Up to 30 people were detained for questioning after riot police broke up 
a protest by migrant workers demanding compensation for a teenage boy 
who was seriously injured after he climbed into a textile factory in the 
eastern city of Ningbo, police said.
'There are now 20 to 30 under investigation and being interviewed,' a 
police officer in Ningbo's Xiangshan county told Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
dpa by telephone.
The officer said 'mass rioting' broke out after factory workers seized 
the 14-year-old boy as a suspected thief and called police, apparently 
resulting in the boy jumping from a building as the police arrived.
'The reason why he jumped is still under investigation,' he said.
The Xiangshan police officer said the boy was treated by a local 
hospital for serious injuries but was out of danger.
He said no police were injured in the clash with protestors, but the 
Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said 
20 others were injured.
The Information Centre said some 500 migrant workers gathered outside 
the factory on Thursday, and thousands of onlookers swelled the crowd to 
about 10,000 before the riot police arrived.
It said another 50 people were injured and 20 detained after riot police 
clashed with thousands of protestors angered by an illegal fund-raising 
scheme in the southern province of Hunan on Wednesday and Thursday.
The government's official Xinhua news agency said a 'chaotic petition to 
local authorities' on Wednesday and Thursday had blocked roads and 
railways in Hunan's Jishou city.
The protesters surrounded local government offices to demand 
intervention after a local real-estate firm failed to repay the loans 
and interest promised in its illegal fund-raising scheme, the agency said.
Some protesters and onlookers swarmed into the Jishou railway station on 
Wednesday evening but were 'persuaded by officials to leave about an 
hour later,' it said.
The protestors continued to block roads and the railway station on 
Thursday morning.
They dispersed after officials registered the petitioners' claims 
against the real-estate firm and detained company executives, the agency 
said.
The riots are among an increasing number of protests and violent 
incidents in recent years, reflecting simmering unrest over abuse of 
official powers and widespread cynicism towards the ruling Communist 
Party in many poor areas.
In one of the most serious incidents, up to 30,000 people rioted after 
the suspicious death of a teenage girl in the south-western province of 
Guizhou in late June.
The government later said a string of unresolved 'social grievances' and 
encouragement by criminal gangs had sparked the rioting.







http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/hunan-protest-chinese-swat-officer-3917.html

20,000 Chinese SWAT Officers Deployed to Hunan to Monitor Protesters
By Gu Qinger and Hu Tongcai
Epoch Times Staff Sep 7, 2008

Jishou City after the protest. (Epoch Times)
On September 4, almost 100,000 Jishou City residents joined together for 
a protest regarding money loaned to businesses that had became insolvent.

The government-supported loan scheme had encouraged prefecture-level and 
city-level government officials to invest in long-term, high-interest 
rate loans for local corporations and business people.

The problems began in early August when investors were tipped off that 
the businesses were insolvent.

Investors started withdrawing their investments and in less than two 
weeks had withdrawn nearly 10 billion yuan from the loan scheme (approx. 
US$1.5 billion), causing the corporations to become completely 
insolvent. The loan scheme was worth nearly 7 billion yuan (US$1 billion).

Authorities have responded to the protest by sending 20,000 Chinese SWAT 
officers into the city. Nine of the main coordinators of the protest 
have been arrested, and the 20,000 officers remain stationed in the city.

Since September 4, victims of the illegal business loan scheme have been 
seen walking around the major streets in Jishou City. The Jishou Train 
Station was so crowded that the train was unable to continue its service 
and a large number of commuters were forced to stay at the train station.

Chinese S.W.A.T. officers station on major streets of Jishou City. 
(Epoch Times)
Eyewitnesses say local authorities have mobilized a large number of 
armed police from other cities to suppress the 100,000 protesters.

Jishou City resident Mr. Li told a reporter, “There are 20,000 SWAT 
officers stationed in Jishou right now. They are carrying machine guns 
and armed with even small mortars. The local authorities have arrested 
nine protesters. There is a lot of tension right now. There are many 
policemen blocking the media. A lot of media in China are reporting the 
protest from the perspective of the Chinese government.”

Another resident Mr. Yang said, “To prevent the public from launching 
another protest, local authorities have sent the police to guard the 
train station. The authorities have claimed that they would tell the 
public how they will solve the problem within three months and shut down 
the businesses which fail to pay the loans.”

Encouraged by the local government, Jishou City residents invested in 
nearly 7 billion yuan worth of business loans.

According to a local activist who investigated the incident, the 
prefecture-level and city-level government officials who invested in the 
business loans withdrew their investments and their bonuses as soon as 
they heard the news of insolvency at the beginning of August.

The news traveled fast. Soon many local residents withdrew their 
investments and bonuses. In less than two weeks, nearly 10 billion yuan 
of loans (approx. 1.5 billion USD) had been withdrawn, leaving the 
corporations completely insolvent.

It is alleged that the local government granted and endorsed the 
business loans to over 20 corporations and individuals, including Fuda, 
Rongchang, Sanguan, Weiye, Gexie and Jidian.

The local government enticed the public to invest in the business loans 
by offering 3 percent, 5 percent, 8 percent and 10 percent interest 
rates, which are higher than normal bank interest rates. This offer 
quickly captured the imagination of many investors who they poured their 
money into the scheme.

Mr. Yang said, “With an 8 per cent interest rate, an investment of 
10,000 yuan will yield over 1000 yuan in interest revenue a month. The 
advertisement was endorsed by the local government, but now the 
government is not doing anything.”

Mr. Li said, “The local government has a lot of land, but the 
corporations do not have enough money to develop it. The government then 
allowed the corporations to acquire investments from the public. Soon 
the investment money snowballed. Without the approval from the 
government, no corporation may solicit investments from the public. 
There are a lot of wealthy government officials who also made 
investments. Nearly all the corporations in Jishou solicited investments 
from the public.”

Victims of the business loans include the elderly as well as unemployed 
people. They have now lost all of their life savings and become penniless.

According to an unnamed source, a female farmer solicited business 
investments from an entire village. When she failed in her effort to 
withdraw the villagers’ investments and interest revenues, she drank 
poison to kill herself. The anxious investors approached the 
corporations to get their money back, but ended up being beaten up by 
thugs employed by the corporations.

Jishou City resident Ms Xiong said, “Many people were lured to sell 
their lands and make an investment by the promise of high interest. Some 
people even got loans to make an investment. Some poured in their entire 
life savings. Nearly every household here has made an investment. Many 
people were lured by the temptation of high interest rates. Even people 
living in retirement homes made an investment, taking money out of their 
life savings. The Chinese government must step in or else many people 
will commit suicide.”

Because of the severity of the situation, the Hunan provincial 
government has mobilized the military and the police from nearby cities 
to suppress the protest. Sources say Beijing is well aware of the incident.






http://www.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUSTRE4930AY20081004?feedType=RSS&feedName=sportsNews

Thousands of China soccer fans protest player suspension
Fri Oct 3, 2008 11:46pm EDT

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of soccer fans marched in the 
Chinese city of Wuhan, blocked traffic and some charged a police 
blockade in protest against an eight-game suspension of a star player, a 
Hong Kong newspaper said.
The Chinese Football Association suspended defender Li Weifeng and fined 
him 8,000 yuan ($1,169) on Tuesday for a scuffle with a player from the 
opposing team who was given the same punishment. The September 28 game 
ended in a 1-1 draw.
Li, 30, is a former captain of China's national team who played on the 
Olympic squad in August.
Li's Wuhan Guanggu club later announced its withdrawal from the Chinese 
Super League in protest, saying it would sue the Football Association 
and fuelling the outrage of Wuhan's fans.
Tens of thousands of fans hit the streets on Thursday, shouting slogans 
like "Dissolve the Football Association!" and "The Super League is 
Finished!," and staged a sit-in to block traffic, Hong Kong's Ming Pao 
newspaper reported on Saturday.
Wuhan's deputy mayor went to the scene to try to calm the fans and about 
an hour later they left peacefully, the newspaper said.
Soccer is wildly popular in China, but the professional leagues are 
plagued with corruption and the national team is widely considered an 
embarrassment.
($1 = 6.843 yuan)
(Reporting by John Ruwitch, additional reporting by Liu Zhen in Beijing; 
Editing by Valerie Lee)