2015-06-26
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Hui Muslims protest in front of government buildings in Yinchuan city, Ningxia, China, June 25, 2015.
Photo courtesy of an RFA listener
Nine people were injured in clashes between the Muslim Hui ethnic group and security personnel in China’s western region of Ningxia after authorities moved in to demolish thousands of the community’s tombs, local residents said on Friday.
Residents of Yueyahu village near Ningxia’s Yinchuan city said the clashes took place after dozens of police arrived in the village on Thursday morning and began demolishing local graves to clear land for a new airport.
Local people said the move came before an agreement had been reached with local officials over compensation for lost land and relocation of ancestral remains.
A doctor who answered the phone at the Yueyahu medical clinic on Friday confirmed the clashes had taken place.
“They want to build an airport near here, so they need to redevelop the land, and they want to clear away the tombs, which are all on the hillside,” the doctor said.
“The local people refused to allow the tombs to be relocated, saying that the compensation was too low,” he said.
“Then, when the government wanted to get started on the clearance of the grave sites, they wouldn’t let them.”
Nine sent to hospital
The doctor said nine people were injured in the ensuing clashes.
“Eventually we sent [the injured] to the municipal hospital for treatment,” the doctor said.
“There were nine in total, one of whom was an urban management official,” he said, in reference to the notorious “chengguan” officers whose violent enforcement of local planning decisions and zoning laws has prompted widespread public outrage in China.
“We checked them all over; their condition wasn’t too bad … but the government told us to treat them as urgent cases,” the doctor said.
Asked if the injuries were the result of clashes between local residents and chengguan, the doctor said: “Uh-huh.”
“There were police and chengguan there, [a few dozen],” he said.
Photos of the stand-off posted on social media sites showed riot police in helmets and holding shields and batons standing in a cemetery, while local residents wearing Muslim headgear faced off with them.
Some photos showed local residents lying on the ground, while others sat on the ground weeping.
Calls to the Yueyahu village government offices rang unanswered during office hours on Friday.
An officer who answered the phone at the village police station didn’t deny the incident had taken place.
“This thing you are asking about, you’ll have to ask the leaders about it,” the police officer said. “I am just the duty officer.”
Asked if any local people had been detained, the officer said: “I hadn’t heard that. I have only just arrived at work.”
