Government officials, thinking of the mainland's image as next month's Olympic Games approach, are giving one account of Saturday's riot over the death of a teenage girl in Guizhou province . But local people are telling a far different story and hurling accusations of their own against authorities.
Netizens, angered by official denunciations of the riot as the work of gangsters, have raised their voices over the incident, with some using creative new ways to circumvent official internet filters.
Authorities took to the airwaves to give the official version, stressing the police's conclusion that the girl had committed suicide. But the broadcasts angered some residents of Wengan county , who insisted they knew what had really happened. The girl's family contends she was raped and killed.
'All TV news is full of lies,' a woman said yesterday. 'I don't want to listen to it blaring day and night.'
Residents also said they were angry at being branded 'gangsters and people with ulterior motives'.
'I don't know of any gangsters in the protests. They were students - primary and middle school students,' said a resident who identified himself as Li. 'Students are not gangsters. What's really happened is that local police colluded with gangsters.'
A storeowner who said he had taken part in the protests said people were angry but had fallen silent because they worried about their safety.
