Property protesters put under house arrest
Police in Shanghai have confined up to 100 people to their homes to avert a protest against property projects on the eve of the June 4 anniversary.
Authorities also detained a handful of people at the city's main railway station, the site of the planned protest against forced removal and low compensation, organisers said.
Up to 300 protesters had arranged to gather yesterday, some planning to board a train to Beijing to air their grievances to the central government.
'The police came and they said: 'Before June 4, for the next two days, you can't go out',' one of the detained people said.
Organisers were forced to call off the protest after scores were placed under house arrest, beginning on Monday afternoon. Police, usually in groups of two or three, were stationed outside the homes.
Anyone who left their home was forced back inside or warned not to take part in the protest.
At the train station, around a dozen police officers in uniforms and others in plain clothes patrolled the main square, keeping a watchful eye for any protests.
Witnesses said authorities detained an elderly woman, placing her in a police car and whisking her away.
The loosely organised group of protesters has grown increasingly vocal over the past month, holding at least three demonstrations outside the train station, a government office and a local court.
Organisers said this marked a deliberate move to put more pressure on the local government over several disputes that have simmered for months. Some residents say they had no alternative but public protest after pleas to the government were ignored.
Protests are rare in Shanghai, but tensions between residents, district governments and property companies are rising as the city tries to upgrade dilapidated housing in the race for development.
More than 200 homeowners were arrested last week during a protest outside a court in the central Jing'an district and later when a group of more than 150 tried to board a train for Beijing to present a petition.
Authorities are particularly sensitive to protests around June 4th, the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
