China’s Hubei Protests End in Violence, Censorship

We’ve been bringing you news of a massive protest that erupted in Hubei Province over the weekend. Now, as the standoff between protesters and police has come to an end, let’s take a look at the situation in Shishou City, and hear from some of those at the scene.

It seems the streets are quiet now, but at the height of the protests, 70,000 ordinary citizens stood in opposition to Chinese armed riot police.

The were protecting the body of Tu Yuangao – a cook once employed at Shishou City’s Longyong Hotel.

When Tu was found dead after a three-story fall, the official explanation was suicide. But people who saw Tu’s body said that there was clear evidence he’d been killed – and possibly tortured. The theory was that Tu had found evidence linking the hotel, local Communist authorities, and the criminal drug trade.

[Local Student]:
“That hotel is a den for drug trafficking. That deceased cook must know a lot of secrets. The boss killed him and dropped his body from the third floor. They say it’s suicide, but that’s impossible: Where he fell, there was no blood around him.“

To protect this evidence of foul play, Tu’s relatives and local citizens sought to hold onto his corpse. But armed police came in greater and greater numbers to demand the body be turned over for cremation. The protesters grew in number as well.

[Ms. Chan, Shishou Resident]:
„Everywhere was packed with people. It couldn’t be stopped. They said there are about 50 to 60 thousand, but there were even more; farmers from the countryside were there, too.”

The huge crowds of angry citizens threw bricks, stones and bottles at police and overturned police vehicles.

[Mr. Wang, Shishou Resident]:
“The police wanted to get the body and cremate it. The locals were angry. They overturned police cars. Then there were many people, up to tens of thousands. All armed police arrived, but couldn’t do anything. After the cars were overturned, the people shouted and applauded.“

By Sunday, over 10,000 riot police were facing down tens of thousands of protesters. Pushing forward through the streets, firing shots, beating and arresting demonstrators, they finally managed to enter the hotel and claim the body. Tear gas and water cannons were used in full force.

Police managed to enter the hotel and seize the body by 4:50 a.m. on the morning of June 21st. The protest ended, but the region is still under tight control … and the voices of these local people are being censored from the Internet and all official media.

[Local Resident]:
“The whole street is under lockdown. There are no streetlights. The photographs taken are dark and fuzzy. Internet and mobile networks were shut down, mobile phone signals were breaking up. Two schools were ordered to stop classes for a couple of days.“

But online comments are still emerging from, and about, the huge Shishou protests. Some are asking about the connection between the Communist Public Security Bureau and the hotel’s alleged drug trade. Others were saying the incident could easily become another Tiananmen Square Massacre – where thousands of Chinese citizens would be killed for standing up to Communist abuses of power.

(NTDTV)