The fatal clash between villagers and police in a mainland village not far from Hong Kong is more than a tragic example of the social unrest sweeping China. It is the first time in recent years that armed police have shot protesters dead.
The first official version of last Tuesday's events - issued only last night - admits eight protesters were shot and three killed in 'accidents'. The report, citing Shanwei city government sources, differs from villagers' eyewitness accounts.
Beijing has followed its usual practice of leaving social unrest to local authorities to handle, as if this protest were no different from other incidents. Officials of the city of Shanwei and Guangdong province denied the shootings happened or refused to comment. This case is a reminder, as was last month's cover-up of the chemical pollution of Harbin's water supply, that local officials cannot always be trusted.
Provincial officials are said to have looked into the incident and a leadership group of city officials is heading up an investigation. Given the secrecy and cover-up, the central government should send its own team to Dongzhou village immediately to conduct an independent investigation and establish the facts.
The villagers have been protesting for months about a power company's plans to build a generating plant nearby. They say their concerns include pollution, inadequate compensation for resumed farmland and the loss of fishing grounds, which have been earmarked for reclamation as part of the power-plant project.
Their protests came to a head last Tuesday when they resisted police attempts to make arrests. During the confrontation, police opened fire. Conflicting reports leave the protesters' role in the violence unclear. One says they threw molotov cocktails, another that they threw only firecrackers.
In any case they were protesting in their own village over a local development matter. The involvement of hundreds of armed police seems like unnecessary force. The ensuing secrecy and cover-up do nothing to ease disquiet.
