Five detained over attack on villagers

By Li Xinran  |   2008-11-4  |     ONLINE EDITION

FIVE people have been detained over last month’s attack on villagers due to a land requisition dispute for the construction of the Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway in northern China.

Two principals from China Railway 17th Bureau Group, the builder of the railway in Langfang City, were also disciplined, according to Beijing-based Caijing magazine.

The land and resources authority in Langfang, Hebei Province, said the approval process for the Langfang section of the railway was not completed and construction would not resume until villagers were compensated, according to the report.

However, the company told China National Radio that they were allowed to resume construction tomorrow. It said the local government told them the land issue had been solved, according to the magazine.

Because of the conflict, hundreds of villagers gathered alongside the railway section more than a week before the fighting took place.

They were attacked by hundreds of uniformed thugs on October 19. Several were sent to hospital with broken bones or head injuries.

Injured villagers said the China Railway 17th Group paid for their medical treatment, according to an earlier report.

The attackers were spotted wearing the railway company’s uniform, it said.

The men wore blue uniforms with yellow helmets and attacked villagers with iron bars after jumping off trucks about 10am, according to China National Radio.

Building of the planned 1,318-kilometer express railway started on April 18.