Police arrested 30 people involved in a violent protest in northwest China's Gansu Province, a local official said at a press conference?on Thursday.
A group of 30 petitioners, who opposed a resettlement project in the Wudu District of Longnan City, initiated the protest on Monday. Eventually, more than 2,000 people became involved.
The situation is now under control in Wudu but not before protesters burned and smashed local government buildings, said Li Xuechun, the city's deputy Party chief.
In all, 110 rooms and 22 vehicles were destroyed in the two-day protest. Damages are estimated at more than 5 million yuan (US$731,000) but that number could go higher as workers assess damages to their personal belongings.
Spaces for the city's industry and commerce federation, trade unions federation and Party discipline inspection committee, received the most damage. Some staff had to work in other places, said Li.
Police initially detained 110 people for the violence, but later released 80.
A total of 71 police officers and three journalists from the Gansu Provincial TV Station were injured in the unrest. Most of them were discharged from hospital.
"Ten police officers and one journalist, who were injured by flying stones, bricks and wine bottles are being treated in the hospital, but they are all in stable condition," said Li.
More than 30 residents in Dongjiang Town, Wudu District, who faced resettlement, gathered at the city's government building around 9:30 a.m. on Monday, asking authorities for solutions concerning their farmland, housing and livelihoods.
The government's relocation plan has not been approved by the central government yet. Details of that plan, including where and why the residents had to be resettled, have not been released.
Some protesters talked with city officials on Monday but failed to reach any agreement.
"The protesters pelted stones and bricks at the policemen. Some even attacked them with iron bars or spades," said a witness who declined to be named. "Police fired teargas several times to disperse the attackers from about 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.."
To settle unrest among protesters, the province governor Xu Shousheng held a meeting with 10 representatives in Wudu on Thursday morning.
Xu told the protestors that the relocation was still in the planning stages. It was up to the central government to carry it out or not. Xu also promised residents that their livelihoods would be protected if the resettlement is approved.
"Now I know better the government's policy and I will tell the others," said Wang Qingyu, one of the representatives who also participated in the protest.
Xu said the country would invest more than 20 billion yuan in Longna's infrastructure in the next three years. A railway, connecting Lanzhou (Gansu's capital) and the Chongqing Municipality, is under construction. The rail line, to run through Wudu, would help boost the local economy.
"If the government strives to give us a better life, who will not support its policies?" said another protest representative, Xue Jixiang.
Debris in the streets around the government buildings had been cleared by Thursday afternoon. Stores and restaurants have also resumed operations, however, prices at grocery stores rose by 40 percent on average in the downtown area after the violence.
Mountainous Longnan City, neighboring the Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces, is one of the poorest areas in Gansu.
The devastating earthquake, on May 12 in Sichuan, affected the livelihoods of 1.76 million people, more than half the city's total population.
(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2008)