[Unattributed report: "Over 1,000 Workers in Yanan, Sacred Place of CCP, Locked in Bloody Clashes With Hundreds of Public Security and Armed Police, Leaving 100 Injured"]

The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy [ICHRD] has learned that from 5 to 7 May, more than 1,000 workers and retired workers of Yanan Machinery Plant were locked in fierce and bloody clashes with hundreds of special and armed police in order to protect the plant that had been sold by the plant leaders at cut-throat prices; in the past three days over 100 workers have been injured; the clashes are still going on now.

ICHRD has learned that Yanan Machinery Plant is in Yanan city, a sacred place of the CCP; Mao Zedong personally donated a machine tool to the plant when it was built in 1958; the plant was very well-known in the 1970s. Since the start of the new century, the plant has experienced recession and has been selling factory land in order to maintain the workers' livelihood; recently "Yanglin Company," the land owner, wanted to develop and build houses on the purchased land; however, this was considered by the workers as the plant leaders' deliberate efforts to profiteer by holding down the land prices. On the morning of 5 May "Yanglin Company" began to relocate the plant but clashed with the workers; a melee ensued involving hundreds of special and armed police as well as public security personnel and over 1,000 workers; on 5 May alone more than 60 workers were injured; the clashes were still underway yesterday and today; an insider of the plant said that over 100 workers have been injured in the past three days, Shenzhou Travel Agency nearby the plant also confirmed to us that clashes were still going on today.

Yanan, a sacred place of the CCP, is the most important area for the CCP's growth, but it is also one of the poorest areas in China. China has plans to add 100,000 new special police for last year, this year, and next year; however China is increasingly feeling the shortage of police force; for instance massive police forces are needed to cope with these demonstrators, the perpetrators of medical disturbances, and so on; in another story after the recent school incident, the special and armed police begin to be stationed at all school entrances. How many students throughout China need protection? Assuming the students number 200 million and each school has 1,000 students on average, there would be 200,000 secondary and primary schools; assuming two special and armed police officers are needed per school, an additional 400,000 special and armed police would be needed.

[Dated] 7 May 2010

Source: Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Hong Kong, in Chinese 7 May 10

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