Thousands protest over ant aphrodisiac scheme

By Chris Buckley

BEIJING (Reuters) - Thousands of people in northeastern China have protested on the streets and surrounded government offices demanding help recovering money from a get-rich-quick scheme to raise ants to make an aphrodisiac tonic.

Hundreds of anti-riot troops and police in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, were deployed to stop protesters reaching the provincial government and Communist Party headquarters, residents said on Wednesday.

The irate investors from across Liaoning, a rustbelt province striving to attract investment, have demonstrated in Shenyang since Monday and sporadic clashes with police have broken out, they said.

Several thousand protesters gathered near the provincial government offices on Wednesday, a resident told Reuters by telephone.

The investors -- many of them laid-off workers or farmers -- put their savings into Shenyang's Yilishen Group for a scheme in which they raised ants to provide ingredients for a health tonic promising an aphrodisiac boost.

For every 10,000 yuan ($1,350) they paid the company as "deposit," investors were promised a dividend of 3,250 yuan.

The tonic was promoted on television by Zhao Benshan, the country's best-known comic who specializes in playing innocent bumpkins with a northeastern twang.

But since October, the group has twice delayed payment of dividends, fuelling investor fears that it was on the brink of bankruptcy or that the government might have frozen its funds.

"We strongly demand the government offer a way out for Yilishen!" read a banner held by protesters as they marched along a Shenyang street. A photo of the banner was posted on Internet and blog sites.

China has seen rising protests from farmers and disgruntled workers as inequality and corruption stoke popular resentment

The unusual origin of this latest uproar was a reminder that even as China's economy booms, there are pitfalls that can spark discontent from citizens eager for a share of wealth.

Chinese media have said the scheme collected more than 10 billion yuan from hundreds of thousands of Liaoning residents.

USELESS RUSE?

Some local reports have said the ants were a useless ruse for an illegal scam, but the group has survived several probes in the past eight years and investors had previously received their dividends on time, protesters said.

As they looked for reassurance, panicked investors have turned their ire on the government.