8 held after brawl at coal mine
July 20, 2010, Tuesday
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POLICE in Yulin, a resource-rich city in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, have detained eight people after violence at a local coal mine left dozens injured.
The eight, including residents of Fanjiahe Village in Hengshan County and workers from Shandong Coal Mine, were suspected of masterminding violence that involved almost 200 people, a spokesman with the Yulin government said yesterday.
More than 100 villagers, armed with shovels and other tools, entered the mining area at 8am on Saturday, smashing gates leading to the main shafts and other mine facilities, trying to stop production, the spokesman said.
Managers at the mine mobilized more than 70 workers to drive the villagers away, he said.
The two sides ended up throwing bricks and stones at each other. A total of 87 people were injured, including 63 villagers and 24 mine workers, the spokesman said.
Six villagers suffered serious injuries and were sent to a hospital in downtown Yulin.
Operations at the mine were suspended after the incident and the management put under review and its bank account frozen.
Investigators said the clash was triggered by an old dispute over the mine's ownership.
Shandong Mine, with 210 employees and producing 300,000 tons of coal annually, was founded in 1995 as a collectively-owned entity by residents in Fanjiahe Village. Villager Fan Zhanfei served as its first general manager.
A shortage of capital forced the villagers to raise more funds and Li Zhao, a man from Shandong Province, invested as a partner.
When Li renewed the mine's license in 2000, he changed the business to a private firm of his own.
Fan and the villagers demanded the authorities nullify the change and took the provincial land and resources department to court.
A court ruled in favor of the villagers in 2005. The ruling was backed by a higher court in 2007.
The dispute between the villagers and mine authorities escalated after there was no response to the court ruling, the spokesman said.
The eight, including residents of Fanjiahe Village in Hengshan County and workers from Shandong Coal Mine, were suspected of masterminding violence that involved almost 200 people, a spokesman with the Yulin government said yesterday.
More than 100 villagers, armed with shovels and other tools, entered the mining area at 8am on Saturday, smashing gates leading to the main shafts and other mine facilities, trying to stop production, the spokesman said.
Managers at the mine mobilized more than 70 workers to drive the villagers away, he said.
The two sides ended up throwing bricks and stones at each other. A total of 87 people were injured, including 63 villagers and 24 mine workers, the spokesman said.
Six villagers suffered serious injuries and were sent to a hospital in downtown Yulin.
Operations at the mine were suspended after the incident and the management put under review and its bank account frozen.
Investigators said the clash was triggered by an old dispute over the mine's ownership.
Shandong Mine, with 210 employees and producing 300,000 tons of coal annually, was founded in 1995 as a collectively-owned entity by residents in Fanjiahe Village. Villager Fan Zhanfei served as its first general manager.
A shortage of capital forced the villagers to raise more funds and Li Zhao, a man from Shandong Province, invested as a partner.
When Li renewed the mine's license in 2000, he changed the business to a private firm of his own.
Fan and the villagers demanded the authorities nullify the change and took the provincial land and resources department to court.
A court ruled in favor of the villagers in 2005. The ruling was backed by a higher court in 2007.
The dispute between the villagers and mine authorities escalated after there was no response to the court ruling, the spokesman said.
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