Sources told The Epoch Times, that at around midnight on August 8, about 200 men in camouflage uniforms showed up on Maoyuan Street, in Chenzhuang Town, using iron shovels to attack people and smash whatever they came in contact with. They also looted valuable items from stores and cars.
Local residents called the emergency number 110 for the police, but no one answered the phone and no help was available. The mob also stopped people from seeking help for the wounded, some of whom lay in pools of blood. Many of the wounded needed hospitalization.
Sources said that last year the local authorities requested business owners to move to a new market, which was met with resistance and conflict. The current Maoyuan Market is the busiest area in town, and the construction of the market was almost completely funded by business owners. The town has a 40-year lease with the business owners, which is still current.
Many business owners and residents on this street were frightened by the involvement of hoodlums and dared not talk to The Epoch Times.
One clerk at a store did tell The Epoch Times, “Traffic is blocked. After those men in camouflage uniforms smashed the cars, they put them in the middle of the street. They are still there. No one moved the cars.”
Another business owner said, “All the cars on this street were smashed and people were hit. I heard that some people are in critical condition. About a dozen cars were smashed. It must be the authorities behind this.” However, he was not sure how many people were wounded.
Another source said that a real estate developer built another market in a remote area which very few people frequented. Because the limited population in Chenzhuang Town cannot possibly sustain two markets, the real estate developer and the town authorities therefore hoped that businesses on Maoyuan Street could relocate to another market.
One blogger posted this message on the Web, “The town hired gangsters. I would have never believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes!”
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