Chinese Town Faces Martial Law After Riots

[Bossy Monkey]

Oct 31, 11:11 PM EST

Chinese Town Faces Martial Law After Riots

BEIJING (AP) -- Martial law has been imposed on a town in central China after rioting killed at least four people and injured an unknown number, local residents said Monday.

The violence erupted Friday in Langchenggang, a town in Henan province, according to residents contacted by phone. They said large groups of rioters fought with sticks and burned several houses.

One resident said at least four people were killed. Residents could not confirm a report by The New York Times on its Web site that as many as 148 people had been killed and that the violence involved clashes between members of China's ethnic Han majority and the Hui Muslim minority.

"A lot of people were carrying clubs to fight. They set fire to several houses," said a Langchenggang resident who would give only his surname, Liu. "Right now, there are lots of police. The local government is allowing local residents to move around but everyone is afraid of going out."
(more)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CHINA_RIOTING?SITE=SCCOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[quaoar]

1. Death toll up to 150

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/01/international/asia/01china.html

Martial Law Declared as Nearly 150 Die in Clashes in Central China
By JOSEPH KAHN

Published: November 1, 2004

BEIJING, Oct. 31 - Ethnic clashes between majority Han Chinese and Hui Muslims left almost 150 people dead and forced the authorities to declare martial law in a section of Henan Province in central China, journalists and witnesses in the region said Sunday.

The fighting flared Friday and continued into the weekend after a Hui taxi driver's car hit and killed a 6-year-old Han girl, prompting recriminations between different ethnic groups in neighboring villages, the journalists and witnesses said. One individual briefed on the incident by the police said 148 people had been killed, including 18 police officers sent to quell the violence.

The Chinese news media have reported nothing about unrest in Henan. But a news blackout would not be unusual, because propaganda authorities routinely suppress information about ethnic tensions.

Though most Chinese belong to the dominant Han ethnicity, the country has 55 other ethnic groups, including several Muslim minorities and others with ties to Tibet, Southeast Asia, Korea and Mongolia.