Riot police clashed with residents of a southern Chinese fishing village who blocked roads last week to protest a state order to relocate their boats from a long-used typhoon shelter, fearing the move would threaten their livelihoods, according to residents.
The protest began on the afternoon of May 6 in Guang’ao Village, Shantou City, Guangdong Province, as nearly 2,000 villagers gathered along the main road near the harbor. The villagers said they opposed the forcible relocation of their fishing boats to a temporary shelter in a neighboring village, which they said was unsafe and prone to theft and vandalism.