July 18, 2008

BEIJING - More than a hundred Chinese villagers attacked a police station to protest the death of a man they say was beaten by local Communist Party security guards, police said Friday, the latest in a recent spate of violence triggered by discontent with authorities.

Relatives gathered Thursday after Ouyang Jiusheng, 40, died in a motorcycle accident near Shangnan village in the southern province of Guangdong, according to a police statement sent via e-mail.

A police officer and a doctor determined that Ouyang died of injuries sustained after his bike overturned, however, the relatives argued he was beaten by the guards who refused to let police take his body away, it said. The statement did not give a reason for the relatives' allegation.

The crowd grew to more than 100 people and they attacked the police station, the local Communist Party office and a supermarket, the statement said. Four guards were injured and police cars were overturned, it said.

Police and government officials tried to negotiate with the protesters but were unsuccessful and even more people joined in.

"To prevent the incident from escalating, police had to clear out the site," the statement said.

Eight people were taken into custody and a 25-year-old man, Ouyang's cousin, was detained for inciting the violence.

As Beijing enters the final stretch before the Aug. 8-24 Olympics, the government is trying to limit protests or complaints across the country that could embarrass the image of a modern nation.

Last week, hundreds of migrant workers attacked a police station in eastern Zhejiang province after one worker was allegedly beaten while trying to get a residence permit.

In Guizhou province, more than 30,000 people protested and torched a police station in a town last month over what they believed was a cover-up of a teenage girl's death.

A notice issued this week by the central government ordered local leaders to be more responsive to people's complaints and be better at resolving disputes and conflicts.