By AUDRA ANG Associated Press Writer
Dec. 11, 2005

DONGZHOU, China — Police in riot gear patrolled this southern village appealing for order Sunday after China's government acknowledged that officers shot and killed at least three people who were protesting against land seizures.

Residents gave new details of last Tuesday's violence in this coastal village northeast of Hong Kong. They said they heard bursts of gunfire for at least 12 hours after the clash, in which villagers said as many as 20 people were killed.
On Sunday, at least 100 police with riot shields and helmets stood guard in the village. Police stopped vehicles at roadblocks, looking for local men. There was no violence, but residents could be seen arguing angrily with police.

Police trucks drove through the village blaring promises over loudspeakers that officials would deal with local grievances.
"Have confidence in the government," said the announcement in the local dialect. "This matter will be handled well."

China's government defended the shootings, saying Saturday that police opened fire after protesters with knives, spears and dynamite attacked a power plant and then turned on authorities. It said three people were killed and two arrested.
The government said the protests centered on land taken for use by a power plant using wind turbines, though villagers said the dispute was over a different, coal-fired power plant.

Several residents said they heard gunfire beginning at about 6 p.m. on Tuesday. They said there were sporadic bursts of shooting through the night, lasting for about 12 hours.

"We were terrified. We all stayed inside," said a farmer who lives nearby and would give only his last name, Chen. "Even now, we all stay indoors after it gets dark."

A woman who would give only her last name, Luo, said she heard people screaming, "Save me! Save me!"

Villagers contacted Saturday by phone gave death tolls ranging from 10 to 20. They said more were missing.

There was no immediate way to reconcile the widely diverging claims of death tolls, but if the higher toll were confirmed, it would be the deadliest assault by Chinese security forces on civilians since the military killed protesters around Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989. Although police often use tear gas and truncheons to disperse demonstrators, it is extremely rare for them to fire into a crowd.

According to the farmer Chen, the dispute began in March 2004. He said farmers complained about pollution from the coal-fired power plant, which is still under construction but partly operational.

The police shootings were the deadliest known clash yet amid growing anger in areas throughout China over land seizures for construction of power plants, shopping malls and other projects.

Farmers often complain they are paid too little. Some accuse local authorities of stealing compensation money.

Such incidents have alarmed communist leaders, who are promising to spend more to raise living standards in the poor countryside, home to about 800 million people.

By the government's count, China had more than 70,000 cases of rural unrest last year. Protests are growing more violent, with injuries on both sides.
President Hu Jintao's government has made a priority of spreading prosperity to areas left behind by China's 25-year economic boom. But in many areas, families still live on the equivalent of a few hundred dollars a year.

On Sunday, government banners hung at the entrance of Dongzhou said, "Following the law is the responsibility and obligation of the people" and "Don't listen to rumors, don't let yourself be used."

Another tried to placate local anger, promising, "The people's government will always support the people of Dongzhou."

The official Xinhua News Agency said the province has formed a group to investigate complaints by villagers in Dongzhou about land requisition and demands for more compensation.

Local residents said villagers hung up banners earlier appealing to China's central government to investigate the dispute and complaints against local officials.
Witnesses said authorities tore down those banners and burned them on Tuesday.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper said wounded villagers were "under police control" in hospitals. It quoted a villager as saying relatives were detained after they visited a hospitalized uncle who was shot in the chest.
The Post quoted some residents as saying officials were trying to hide the death toll, offering families money to give up bodies.
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