China has fired officials including a local Communist Party secretary and charged 11 people over rioting in the country’s southern industrial heartland in June, state media reported on Thursday.
The town chief and Communist Party secretary in Xintang, where the rioting took place, have been dismissed from their jobs, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing local authorities.
A security official named Lu, who was involved in the confrontation that sparked three days of riots in Guangdong province, was also fired after being held for 10 days, it said. The 11 were meanwhile charged with obstructing official affairs, causing a disturbance and intentionally damaging property, Xinhua quoted the Public Security Comprehensive Management Committee of Guangzhou – the provincial capital – as saying, without providing further details of those charged.
At least 19 people were arrested in June over the riots, which began after rumours spread that police had beaten a street hawker to death and manhandled his pregnant wife. Television images at the time showed hundreds of police officers and armoured vehicles deployed, with people hurling bricks at local officials and police, and vandalising ATMs and police posts.
Xinhua quoted Su Zhijia, deputy secretary of the management committee, as saying the incident was triggered by mounting anger among migrant workers, and that public services for them should be improved to avoid more protests.
AFP