Nine arrested and dozens injured as security forces storm the village of Shangpu in southern Guangdong province
An upturned car lies beside Shangpu's Communist party headquarters, with a slogan on the roof calling for a 'harmonious society'. Photograph: Reuters
This weekend, security forces stormed the village of Shangpu, a farming community of 3,000 in southern Guangdong province, cut the electricity supply and phone service, beat demonstrators and fired tear gas into crowds, injuring 30 to 40 people.
According to wire reports and microblog posts, the confrontation between Shangpu residents and the authorities began last month when the village's Communist party chief, Li Baoyu, leased a 33 hectare (81 acre) plot of land to his friend, the owner of an electric cable company, without the villagers' consent.
Cyclists weave between gutted cars in Shangpu. Photograph: Reuters
"They didn't say a thing and started firing teargas and beating villagers with truncheons," a young witness told Reuters. "They had torches on their helmets, like miners, and were hitting some old people with truncheons who were sleeping in tents. They gave no warning."
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