BEIJING – Thousands of villagers in southern China have attacked government offices and fought police in renewed violence over a harsh population control crackdown, witnesses and state press reported on Wednesday.
The clashes took place on Tuesday in at least three towns in Guangxi region, which this month has seen repeated riots over abuses by authorities implementing China’s so-called “one-child” policy.
The worst of the new unrest appeared to have flared in the town of Yangmei, said a resident who withheld her name for fear of official reprisals. There, several thousand people surrounded the local government headquarters and the family planning office on Tuesday.
They clashed with police and paramilitary units who were rushed in to disperse the crowd, then ransacked and set fire to the family planning office, she told AFP by telephone.
“It’s because of the family planning problems. Many people were injured fighting police,” she said, adding that things were calm on Wednesday.