China has told police to ensure stability amid the global financial crisis after thousands rioted in a north-western city in the latest of a series of demonstrations nationwide.
After decades of solid economic growth, China is battling falling demand for its products and factory closures that have sparked protests and raises fears of popular unrest.
Thousands of people mobbed a government office in Longnan city, Gansu province, on Monday, setting cars alight and looting office equipment in a riot sparked by a government scheme to resettle residents, state media reported.
Footage on Youtube showed riot police struggling to restore order while being pelted with stones. Pictures on Chinese web portals showed columns of armed riot police sheltering beneath shields.
Unrest flared again on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency said, prompting authorities to order an evening curfew and close major streets and local businesses.
Local residents said calm had returned to the city today and blamed heavy-handed police for inflaming the riots, which they said had involved more than 10,000 people.
Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu said police "should be fully aware of the challenge brought by the global financial crisis and try their best to maintain social stability," the China Dailyquoted him as saying.
Gansu provincial authorities had despatched an emergency security force to maintain order in Longnan and ordered main streets to close and television stations to let "the masses understand the true situation".
The Longnan rioting follows a number of strikes by taxi drivers and labour protests in the country's major export regions, where thousands of factories have closed in recent months.
Taxi drivers went on strike in three Chinese cities in recent weeks, complaining of high rental fees and competition from unlicensed taxis. Drivers in Sanya, a resort city on the southern province of Hainan, blockaded government offices.
Workers at a diesel plant in Jiangyan city, eastern Jiangsu province, last week blocked local highways and surrounded government offices amid concerns over job security.
Reuters