7 hurt as demolition protest turns fiery
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Seven people were injured when more than 10 villagers on Thursday set fire to a construction site in Emei Mountain scenic zone in southwest China's Sichuan Province to protest the forced demolition of their homes.
The villagers, headed by Jian Jianmin and Cheng Jianzhong, carried gasoline to the construction site for a government resort complex, to pressure workers into putting down their tools, Emeishan City government said last night.
They set fire to materials and attacked local government officials and police officers, resulting in injuries to seven people, including Cheng. But online rumors said the clash led to one death, Caijing.com.cn reported.
According to a city plan in 2001, more than 1,100 houses in five towns including Baoning Village will be demolished to build a tourism project between Emei Mountain and the Giant Stone Buddha at Leshan, in Chongqing Municipality.
But the project was shelved because of villagers' protest.
It was not resumed until February 8 this year.
The project, covering more than 33 hectares and costing about 2 billion yuan (US$293 million), includes a complex of luxury hotels, resorts, clubs and parks.
Government data indicated the land was auctioned in 2007 for over 62 million yuan.
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