Beijing - A mob of peasants in eastern China beat up a township chief and threw rocks at police, injuring dozens, in a dispute over compensation for reclaimed farmland, police said on Friday.

Land disputes are common in China where cash-strapped local governments try to take advantage of looser restrictions and sell off land for development.

A policewoman in the township of Jinyun in coastal Zhejiang province said police first arrived at the Xinbi industrial park construction site on Sunday after reports angry villagers were throwing stones at workers. One villager was detained, she said.

"Later, they caught a township chief and beat him. So, we went there again to rescue him," said the policewoman who would only give her surname as Hu.

But more villagers had arrived and started hurling rocks at the 100 police who were trying to re-establish order, she said.

"About 30 policemen were injured," she said. "These villagers are too ignorant."

The township chief was later sent to hospital.

A Jinyun government official confirmed the riot, but declined to give details.

A Xinbi resident said villagers had received money from the township government for their land to make way for the industrial park, which they said was too little.

The police officer said the dispute was not new.

"The land dispute has been going on for a long time," she said. "They may think the payment is too low. The money will be spent soon, so what about their children and grandchildren?"

Published on the Web by IOL on 2003-11-28 07:48:02