Chinese Government Pledges Dialogue After Zhejiang Environmental Riots

[hatrack]

BEIJING - "China pledged on Saturday to investigate an environmental dispute that led to rioting by thousands of villagers, in a move apparently aimed at ending a stand-off between peasants and factories accused of polluting.

Thousands rioted in a village outside Dongyang city in eastern Zhejiang province last Sunday, injuring up to 50 policemen, after rumours spread that two of about 200 elderly women keeping a two-week vigil and protesting against factory pollution died during police efforts to disperse them. "The Zhejiang provincial government has set up a special team to investigate the environment dispute case of Huashui Township in Dongyang city," the official Xinhua news agency said, quoting provincial government sources.

Protesters outnumbered police, who fled the scene after trying without success to tear down sheds and road blocks set up by villagers outside an industrial park housing 13 chemical factories.

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The rioting was the latest in a string of outbreaks of rural violence as the world's most populous nation faces disgruntlement over a widening wealth gap and widespread corruption. More than 3 million people staged about 58,000 protests nationwide in 2003, according to the latest available statistics."

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http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/30413/story.htm

[bemildred]

1. Right, with enough bullshit you can fix anything. nt