Armed police arrested two protesters and beat up dozens more when more than 30,000 people demonstrated against the forced demolition of a house in Shaoqing, Zhejiang province, witnesses and officials said yesterday.
The demonstration on Monday also persuaded the local government to give up demolishing a 'nail house' - a four-storey building in downtown Shengzhou owned by 18 householders, said a spokeswoman for the Shengzhou Reconstruction Bureau.
'We gave up the plan because too many people showed up at a square nearby the 'nail house',' she said. 'We are afraid to stir up the problem as both the masses and the householders were very agitated when confronting the police.'
Local police confirmed that the conflict had taken place but declined to make any further comment.
Witnesses said at least four police cars were overturned in the riot.
Demonstrators were determined 'to vent their anger at the local government's dismantling project,' a witness said. 'As armed police kept kicking two people who fell down to the ground, it provoked more people to join the confrontation.'
