Society
Forced relocation suspects held in Guiyang
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-02 09:41
Police have detained a number of kidnappers who forcibly took 13 residents from their homes and then illegally tore down their homes in Guizhou province, local media reported on Tuesday.
Police have also detained some of the kidnapped residents who later staged a protest in the streets.
A total of 24 people have been detained in the series of events that has rocked the area.
In Guiyang, the provincial capital, 13 residents were kidnapped before dawn last Friday by thugs employed by a local real estate developer, who then demolished their homes, the Beijing News said.
Dozens of men wielding steel pipes and crowbars broke into eight homes, taped the mouths of sleeping residents, dragged them into vans and drove them to the outskirts of the city.
Four residents were injured during the kidnapping. The real estate company then demolished 26 houses, the report said.
After the residents were set free, they and their families blocked roads with propane canisters.
Tens of thousands of people and cars were obstructed by the blocked roads, it said.
"The illegal obstruction of roads seriously affected the public life and productive activities, and caused big economic loss," the paper quoted the police as saying.
Protests over land confiscation constantly happen in China today, while farmland, private homes and historic neighborhoods are making room for expensive real estate developments and factories.
Residents often complain that they receive low compensation.
Amid rising protests and mass incidents in the country, top police official Meng Jianzhu has urged officers nationwide to properly handle such social unrest.
China Daily-Reuters
