This is a Guardian article, via Salon:
April 15, 2005 | HUANKANTOU, China -- There is a strange new sightseeing attraction in this normally sleepy corner of the Chinese countryside: smashed police cars, rows of trashed buses and dented riot helmets. They are the trophies of a battle in which peasants scored a rare and bloody victory against the Communist authorities, who face one of the most serious popular challenges to their rule in recent years.
In driving off more than 1,000 riot police at the start of the week, Huankantou village in Zhejiang province is at the crest of a wave of anarchy that has seen millions of impoverished farmers block roads and launch protests against official corruption, environmental destruction and the growing gap between urban wealth and rural poverty. China's media have been forbidden to report on the government's loss of control, but word is spreading quickly to nearby towns and cities. Tens of thousands of sightseers and well-wishers are flocking every day to see the village that beat the police.
But the consequences for Huankantou are far from clear. Having put more than 30 police in the hospital, five critically, the 10,000 residents should be bracing for a backlash. Instead, the mood is euphoric. Children have not been to school since Sunday's clash. There are roadblocks outside the chemical factory that was the origin of the dispute. Late at night the streets are full of gawking tourists, marshaled around the battleground by proud locals who bellow chaotic instructions through loudspeakers. ...
More...
(Salon link)
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/04/15/china_protests/index.htmlAfraid I can't find the Guardian original -- dunno if content has been repackaged for Salon or what. :shrug:
Anyway, it's a really interesting article. This quote totally blew me away:
"The Communists are even worse than the Japanese," said one man.
When I lived in China -- which was over 10 years ago -- it was already common knowledge that much of the gvm't was very corrupt and very not much in favor of the common citizen. I really wonder which way China will go as it continues to industrialize? This occurence fascinates me. An early harbinger of change to come or an isolated incident?