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Chinese Riot OverHandling of Girl’s Killing

BEIJING — Thousands ofpeople haveriotedin a county insouthwest China,setting fire togovernment buildings andoverturningcars in angry protests over the official handling of the death of alocal teenage girl, according to a human rights group, state newsmedia and videotapes of the events.

The protests in the county ofWeng’an in Guizhou Province are another reminder of how quicklypublic anger canignitein China overcases ofperceivedofficialcorruptionandmalfeasance. For the past few years,publicdiscontenthaseruptedintosmall demonstrations and violence across the country.

The protests in Weng’an onSaturday appear to have been larger,reportedlyinvolving thousands of residents, including children. News agenciesreported that protestersclashed withparamilitarypoliceofficerssent to the county.

In March, thousands ofparamilitary police were sent toquellviolent anti-Chinese demonstrations in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.Videos from Weng’an posted on YouTube showed groups of protestersstanding and watching as firesengulfeda local government building.

The Information Center forHuman Rights and Democracy, a Hong Kong-based human rights group,reported that the riot wasincitedbythe case of a teenage girl who was reportedly raped and murdered.

Relatives of the 16-year-oldgirl blamed the local police for ashoddyinvestigation and also claimed possible corruption, the groupreported. The family said the teenager disappeared after being seenwith two young menwith family ties tothe localpublic security bureau, thereport said.

By Saturday, the human rightsgroup reported, about 500 middle school students had gone to protestat the public security bureau. But the students wereturnedawayand beaten, a move that immediatelyrousedan angrymobof thousands of people whobegan setting fire to buildings and overturning cars.

The Information Center forHuman Rights and Democracy reported that one person died, 150 wereinjured and 200 weredetained. Officialsin the province could not be reached to confirm these figures.

By Sunday morning, a localresident told The Associated Press that the police were usingmegaphonesto urge the crowds to leavewhile local television channels were calling on people involved inthe protests tosurrenderto theauthorities.

“Thick black smokebillowedeverywhere,” one resident told The Associated Press. “Theincident shows that the social order around here is not stable.”

The state-run news agencyXinhua confirmed the violence in a brief article and said thesituation had stabilized. Referring to the investigation into thegirl’s death, the news agency reported, “Some people who did notknow about the exact context of what had happened were instigated tomob the police station and the office buildings of the countygovernment and Communist Party committee.”

The demonstrations were lessthan six weeks before Beijing hosts the Olympic Games, and securityofficials are deeply worried about potential outbreaks ofunrestacross China.