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Vendorˇ¦s death sparks riot in
southern Chinese city
Reuters, BEIJING
A frame grab taken from a video
that was posted on the Chinese Web site Youku.com yesterday shows two injured
Chinese men surrounded by onlookers in a street after police dispersed the crowd
in Anshun, Guizhou Province, on Tuesday.
Angry residents in a southern Chinese city
went on the rampage after officials reportedly beat to death a disabled fruit
vendor, state media said yesterday, in the latest incident of social unrest in
the worldˇ¦s second-largest economy.
The China Daily said that thousands of people gathered on the streets of Anshun
City in Guizhou Province on Tuesday afternoon, throwing stones at police and
overturning a government vehicle.
The riot was sparked after urban management officers ˇX a quasi-police force that
enforces laws against begging and other petty offences ˇX were suspected of
beating the vendor to death, the newspaper said.
ˇ§The unidentified vendor died in front of the gate of a market ... which led to
the gathering of the local people,ˇ¨ it cited a government statement as saying.
ˇ§Before the incident occurred, urban management officers were working in the
area,ˇ¨ it added, saying the statement gave no other details.
The newspaper showed a picture of an urban management vehicle that had been
overturned, along with smashed windows and doors that had been torn off.
Xinhua news agency said about 30 protesters and 10 police officers were injured
in the unrest.
The elder brother of the dead man has ˇ§consented to [an] autopsy and asked
police to seek justice,ˇ¨ it added. ˇ§Police are questioning six city management
staff members involved in the case.ˇ¨
Footage on Chinaˇ¦s popular Youku.com Web site, the countryˇ¦s answer to YouTube,
showed a large crowd gathered in the street, and what seemed to be a body on the
ground shaded by umbrellas.
An overturned vehicle could be seen in the distance, along with many police
officers and a black armored car used by Chinaˇ¦s riot police.
Reuters could not authenticate the footage, nor when it was taken. Calls to the
Anshun government seeking comment went unanswered.
ˇ§It was a total mess,ˇ¨ one onlooker surnamed Jiang told the China Daily. ˇ§The
people threw stones at the police officers and my feet were hit by flying
rocks.ˇ¨
Hong Kongˇ¦s Ming Pao newspaper said that the police used water cannons to
disperse the protesters, who finally left the scene late in the evening.
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