China warns of Olympics unrest

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Olympics are threatened by sabotage and unrest, a senior Chinese security official said in remarks reported on Friday, as authorities sacked officials after a riot in which a police headquarters was set ablaze.

The trouble in Guizhou province in the southwest on Saturday erupted despite China's determination to quell any signs of unrest ahead of next month's Games in Beijing.

Vice Minister of Public Security Yang Huanning told police officials that the Games would be a target for forces hostile to China's ruling Communist Party.

"The current international and domestic situation is full of complications," Yang told the meeting, according to the People's Public Security News.

"Especially as the Beijing Olympic Games draw near, a range of anti-China forces and hostile forces are striving by any means and redoubling efforts to engage in troublemaking and sabotage."

Yang, recently appointed to his post and called an "anti-terror expert" by official media, issued orders at a separate meeting to minimize the flow of aggrieved citizens journeying to Beijing to press petitions over official abuses, the China News Service reported.

China has taken sweeping steps to prevent any protests or violence during the Games, which begin on August 8. The restive regions of Tibet and Xinjiang have been a particular target.

SACKINGS

Yang's warnings came as officials sought to swiftly mop up a riot in Weng'an County, Guizhou, that has underscored the currents of discontent underneath the country's dizzying growth.

Residents there torched police and government headquarters and many vehicles on Saturday, demanding justice after claims spread that police had covered up as a suicide the rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl.

Police have denied that relatives of officials had anything to do with the girl's death and said she killed herself by jumping into a river.

A third autopsy conducted by forensics experts on Wednesday showed once again that the girl had drowned, the official Xinhua news agency reported. It said her body had been buried afterwards.

But with officials now acknowledging that the anger reflected broader lapses in policing, provincial authorities on Friday announced the dismissal of Wang Qin, Communist Party chief of Weng'an, and county mayor Wang Haiping, Xinhua said.

The sacking of the top two officials in the county followed the dismissal of its two police chiefs for "severe malfeasance".

The Communist Party secretary of Guizhou, Shi Zongyuan, said officials had mishandled public tensions over mining development, housing demolitions and resident resettlement, Xinhua reported.

"In handling these conflicts, disputes and mass incidents, some officials acted crudely, had simplistic work methods and even arbitrarily wielded police force," Shi told officials, according to Xinhua.

Shi said Weng'an authorities had mobilized police to quell public complaints that should have been defused by officials. Police had also allowed crime to spread unchecked.

"This incident may appear to be random, but in fact it was inevitable," Shi said, adding that the county leaders bore "unshirkable responsibility".

Xinhua said about 30,000 people took part in the protest and 150 police and residents were injured, but there were no deaths. More than 40 vehicles were set on fire.

(Additional reporting by Guo Shipeng; Editing by Alan Wheatley and Alex Richardson)

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