Chinese police told to keep a lid on economic protests

THE CHINESE government has urged police and local authorities to keep a lid on social unrest and safeguard stability after a series of riots and demonstrations in a number of areas largely prompted by the slowing economy.

Thousands of people mobbed a government office in Longnan in the northwestern province of Gansu on Monday, burning cars and looting office equipment, the Xinhua news agency reported. There was more violence on Tuesday and the authorities ordered an evening curfew and closed major streets and local businesses.

Xinhua said order had been restored in the area after the unrest. It began after residents of Dongjiang town in Wudu District went to the city government to petition regarding forced relocation from their farmlands.

Websites carried pictures of armed riot police being attacked by demonstrators.

It's the latest in a series of protests and demonstrations nationwide. China has warned that economic growth will slow this year to less than the double-digit expansion it has seen for many years. The export market, crucial to the economy, is slowing as economies in the West slow down, and there have been factory closures in areas such as Guangdong province, the engine of China's booming economy.

The Communist Party is wary of social unrest and any instability which could threaten its grip on the country.

Public security minister Meng Jianzhu told the China Dailythat police "should be fully aware of the challenge brought by the global financial crisis and try their best to maintain social stability".

Mr Meng, a member of the State Council, urged the police to further improve their approach to law enforcement, using "a harmonious thinking to ease conflicts and a harmonious attitude to treat the people".

This month has seen a series of strikes by taxi drivers in major cities, angry at rising rental fees and competition from unlicensed cabbies.

In factories in southern China there have been demonstrations over closures after international toy companies cancelled orders, while workers at a diesel plant in Jiangyan in the eastern province of Jiangsu blocked roads and surrounded government offices amid concerns over job security.