Hundreds riot in China, attack police, smash cars

BEIJING (Reuters) – Hundreds of Chinese attacked police and
smashed up squad cars after a migrant was apparently beaten up
for refusing to pay for a resident’s permit, a newspaper
reported on Thursday.

The riot in Guiyang, capital of the southwestern province
of Guizhou, was the latest eruption of unrest the Communist
Party fears could spin out of control and threaten its monopoly
on power.

At least one police officer and a taxi driver were wounded
and more than 10 police cars were overturned, the Guizhou
Metropolitan News said.

The violence started on Monday night when a migrant worker,
surnamed Guo, refused to pay the fee for a temporary resident’s
permit and was beaten up, the newspaper said.

Guo told the newspaper that authorities dealing with the
permit caused the wounds to his face. Police denied the charge,
saying the wounds came from a drunken fall.

Local police reached by telephone declined to comment.

The newspaper said an “emotional and agitated” crowd,
including Guo’s relatives, started smashing up police cars,
deflating tires, chasing police and attacking them with bricks.

Four men were arrested.

Migrant Chinese have to carry permits proving their right
to live in cities. In 2003, a university student was beaten to
death by police when he failed to provide his papers in the
southern city of Guangzhou.

A widening gap between rich and poor, corruption and
official abuses of power have fueled a growing number of
demonstrations and riots around the country which are often
sparked by seemingly minor issues.

In January, China’s Ministry of Public Security said
protests, riots and other “mass incidents” were rising, putting
the total number of such incidents at 87,000 last year, up 6.6
percent from 2004.

Last month, thousands of university students in central
China smashed windows and ransacked their campus in a riot
sparked by anger over the wording of their diplomas.