According to eyewitnesses, a violent crackdown on a protest on Nov. 18 against a new medical facility in the capital of China’s Hainan Province provoked a violent response by the protesters. Over 10 law enforcement vehicles were smashed and turned over, and close to 100 protesters are said to have been injured.
On the morning of Nov. 18, thousands of residents gathered to protest at the construction site of a large center for treating patients of skin diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, and leprosy, in the town of Sanjiang in the city of Haikou, the capital of the island province of Hainan.
Although the state-funded project promises that it has the capacity for sewage treatment and environmental assessment, many of the local residents have no trust in the state’s promises and fear medical pollution and the spread of disease.
State-run media and eyewitnesses provide different accounts of what happened after the protesters arrived.
The state-run media reported that after protesters tried to break down the walls of the construction site, they clashed with police, injuring five law enforcement officials, one policeman, and two protesters.
The state-run media reported protesters smashed 10 law enforcement vehicles and showed a video taken by a policeman with a cell phone of outraged villagers chasing and throwing stones at the police. The local officials have requested public security to enforce strict punishment on protesters who acted violently.
According to local eyewitnesses, the protesters only moved to tear down the wall of the constructions site hours after police attacked them.
A local villager who only reveals her surname as Han indicated that over 1000 police and riot police started to attack and arrest protesters at around 6 a.m. on Nov. 18. “[Police] even beat the elderly, children, and women.” Mrs. Han said to Epoch Times in a phone interview.
