Villagers riot in China, attack officials, burn cars

BEIJING (Reuters) - Villagers rioted in southwestern China, attacking officials and burning cars, in protest against attempts to enforce strict family-planning policies, witnesses said on Monday, the latest in a series of protests nationwide.

The villagers in Shabei county in Guangxi, one of five "autonomous" regions in China, clashed with officials and police armed with guns and electric cattle prods, pulling down a wall surrounding the government office, turning over cars and burning part of its main building, witnesses told Reuters.

"The government office was a big mess," a villager, who witnessed the scene, said by telephone.

"The big gate and two cars near it were all burnt and black, and broken glass, bricks and rubbish were everywhere."

One villager said dozens had been detained by police.

Local government and police officials reached by telephone declined to comment. An official from neighboring Shapo county confirmed the riot had taken place, but refused to give details.

A doctor at the Shabei hospital said several injured people had been treated there. One protester had been hit on the head by a brick thrown from the government building, and two injured officials had also been brought in for treatment, he said.

The protests were linked to local government moves to intensify family-planning policies, villagers said. Some couples with more than one child must pay fines of up to tens of thousand yuan (thousands of dollars), the villagers said.

China launched its one-child policy in 1980 to curb a ballooning population, now at more than 1.3 billion. The restrictions, which vary from city to countryside, have bolstered a traditional preference for boys and have drawn fire from Western countries and human rights watchdogs after widespread reports of forced abortions and female infanticide.

"The family-planning officials were just like the Japanese invaders during the war. They took everything away, and destroyed or tore down the houses if people could not pay the fines," said one villager surnamed Wu.

"In some families, even the gate and bowls were taken away, leaving them with an empty house."

Wu said he had seen about 20 buses and other vehicles full of riot police and put the number of protesters at up to 10,000. His account could not be confirmed.

A widening gap between rich and poor, corruption and official abuses of power have fuelled a growing number of demonstrations and riots around China.

The government has said the number of "mass incidents" in the country -- a term that includes protests, petitions and demonstrations -- reached about 23,000 last year.