BEIJING (Agence France-Presse) — The official who gave the order for security forces to open fire on a group of demonstrators in southern China last week, killing at least three persons, has been arrested, the state-controlled press said yesterday.
The official Guangzhou Daily newspaper did not give the name or title of the official or specify when he had been detained, but said he had been arrested for his decision to open fire on the villagers’ demonstration.
“The commanding officer on the scene mishandled the situation, causing accidental deaths and injuries. The Shanwei prosecutor decided to arrest him under the penal code,” the paper said.
When interviewed by AFP, Liu Jingmao, the deputy head of Shanwei’s communications department, refused to provide further details, including the officer’s name.
China had imposed a press blackout on the incident but broke its silence yesterday, acknowledging demonstrators were killed when police opened fire. The government put the death toll at three, while residents claimed there were more than 20 deaths.
The official Xinhua news agency said police fired into a mob of protesters lobbing explosives at officers at a blockaded road near Shanwei in Guangdong province during a demonstration Tuesday against the government seizure of land for public projects.
Hundreds of armed villagers had earlier attacked the police in a “serious violation of the law,” Xinhua said, quoting a Shanwei government report.
The Guangzhou Daily said that local authorities were treating the shooting seriously and that a special commission had been established to investigate.
A Hong Kong newspaper quoted villagers accusing Chinese officials of trying to cover up the killings.
It was the deadliest known use of force by Chinese authorities against civilians since security troops opened fire on pro-democracy demonstrators at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, killing hundreds and perhaps thousands.
Although police often use tear gas and truncheons to disperse demonstrators, it is extremely rare for them to fire into a crowd.
The clash in Guangdong also marked an escalation in social protests that have convulsed the Chinese countryside over land seizures for factories, power plants, shopping malls and other projects. Farmers often say they are paid too little and some accuse officials of stealing compensation money.
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