By Edward Lanfranco
Jun. 15, 2005 at 1:50AM
The mayor and Communist
Party chief of a city near Beijing lost their jobs after a weekend
riot in their jurisdiction left 10 dead and nearly 100 injured.
State-run media did not
provide specific details Wednesday as to why the officials from
Dingzhou were removed from office. The small city is located less
than 70 miles from Beijing in Hebei province.
Violence broke out in the
village of Shenyou early Saturday morning over a land dispute
involving a proposed power plant. Locals clashed with five busloads
of young men who arrived armed with hunting rifles, pipes sharpened
into spears, clubs, and Molotov cocktails.
Shenyou residents have refused
to accept compensation from the Hebei Guohua Power Co., which has
been trying since 2003 to build a power plant on 116 hectares of
land currently occupied by 13 villages. The Beijing News reported
Shenyou is the only village holding out.
The company is suspected of
hiring young men to physically intimidate the villagers, who have
refused to hand over a hostage, Zhu Xiaorui, who was captured during
the riot. Zhu admitted he was hired in Beijing and paid 100 yuan
($12) to beat residents.
Negotiations to resolve the
dispute are underway.
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