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From Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy:

This Centre has learned that corruption involving funds for rebuilding and rehousing following the Dujiangyan earthquake has set off major rioting. On the evening of 11 October, as many as a thousand workers on a public project for earthquake rehousing who had not received their pay clashed with thugs hired by the construction company in the town of Xujia in Dujiangyan. Two of the workers were killed. The incident quickly sparked rioting by workers building earthquake resettlement housing in Dujiangyan District. Yesterday several thousand workers clashed with as many as a thousand riot control Public Security personnel at a hospital while attempting to seize the corpses. This morning a large number of workers were still blocking roads. In the incident overall, two people have died and as many as a hundred have been injured. Ten police vehicles have been smashed up, four of them badly damaged.

This Centre has learned that as many as a thousand workers on a public project to rehouse earthquake victims in the town of Xujia have not been paid in four months. The resettlement housing contractor, Sanqin Construction Company, claims that it has not received the money from the government promptly and in the full amount. As many as a thousand workers arranged to go and negotiate with the company at 1800 hours on the 11th. But suddenly a large number of knife-wielding hired thugs appeared, and two workers were hacked to death. That night workers clashed with Public Security personnel, and police vehicles were smashed. Yesterday morning several thousand workers marched, demonstrated, and blocked roads within the city of Dujiangyan. The workers clashed with as many as a thousand riot control Public Security personnel at a hospital, when the workers grabbed the dead bodies and tried to carry them in the demonstration. A large number of workers were still blocking roads early this morning. Some of the workers were distributing leaflets and hanging banners to get sympathy and support from city residents. Since the 11th there have been as many as a hundred casualties, and 10 police vehicles have been smashed up, four of them badly damaged. Early this morning a large number of special police from elsewhere have arrived in Dujiangyan as reinforcements. Two officials of the government in Xujia confirmed that two workers were killed. Currently the authorities have a tight blockade on news about this major rioting.

Collusion between officials and contractors to grab some of the huge amount of Sichuan earthquake reconstruction funding is increasingly serious. Yet no element of the media dares to touch this sensitive issue, and that is making the problem more and more serious.