China

Jiangxi officials sacked after protesters burn themselves

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-20 08:00

NANCHANG - Eight officials have been removed from their posts or placed under investigation over a property row in East China's Jiangxi province that left an old man dead and two others injured after they set themselves on fire, local authorities said on Saturday.

The three burned themselves in protest on Sept 10 when they confronted workers who planned to demolish their house to make way for the construction of a bus station in Fenggang township, Yihuang county of Fuzhou city.

Workers from the local construction department visited Zhong Rukui's residence and tried to convince the family to accept the compensation offer.

Three family members appeared and began to threaten the workers that they would douse their bodies with gasoline. The three - Luo Zhifeng, Ye Zhongcheng and Zhong Ruqin - then set themselves alight and were taken to hospital, according to the family.

The Yihuang county government announced on its website that the three caught fire accidentally because of strong winds that day, but the announcement was later removed.

Ye, 79, died on Saturday morning and the other two are still being treated at the No 1 Hospital affiliated to Nanchang University.

Eight officials, including the Party chief of the county, head and deputy head of the county government, as well as principal officials from local departments of housing administration, construction, transport and public security, have been removed from their posts or placed under investigation, a spokesman with Fuzhou municipal government said on Saturday.

The provincial government ordered that no effort be spared in treating the injured residents, the spokesman said.

However, Zhong Rujiu, the youngest daughter of the family, said on her microblog on sina.com on Saturday that "people from the government" forcibly took Ye's body from the hospital.

Zhong Rutian, the elder brother of Zhong Rujiu, also said that local officials had kept five family members, including Zhong Rujiu, in a hotel in Yihuang. He later posted another message on the microblog, saying Zhong Rujiu had been released and that the vice-mayor of Fuzhou had promised not to restrict the family members' personal freedom.

A 2007 county government plan called for the relocation of more than 20 households for the construction of the bus station.

Zhong's family was not satisfied with the compensation offer of more than 400,000 yuan ($59,000) and refused to move out.

Xinhua - China Daily