Thousands clash with police in Chinese city: rights group
BEIJING (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters clashed with police in front of a municipal government building in south China in the latest in a series of land disputes, a human rights group reported. At least 20 people were injured.
Tuesday's protest was triggered by a villager's death in the dispute in Liling, Hunan province, the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said.
The Xiaoxiang Morning Post said a villager had been beaten to death by employees of a construction company which wanted to use vegetable fields to build a stadium.
"Some villagers went to municipal government to petition," the paper said. "Related departments are trying to prevent the situation from escalating."
China's Communist Party values stability above all else, especially ahead of sensitive anniversaries, such as the June 4 20th anniversary of the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Protests and incidents of "mass unrest" have risen in China in recent years, sparked by grievances including official abuse of power, land seizures and labor disputes.
(Reporting by Yu Le and Nick Macfie; Editing by Valerie Lee)
