Land dispute sparks protests in east China village
Feb 16, 2012, 3:20 AM
BEIJING (AP) – State media say a lingering land dispute has sparked protests and clashes with police in a farming village in eastern China.
The Global Times newspaper reported Thursday that at least 200 people have staged three protests in the last few weeks in Zhejiang province’s Panhe village, with dozens of people beaten and detained by police, according to a villager the paper did not identify by name.
Land disputes cause tens of thousands of protests in China every year.
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China said in a statement Thursday that a Dutch reporter interviewing villagers in Panhe was beaten up Wednesday by men who appeared to be plainclothes police. The club says the reporter was forced to leave the area.
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