BEIJING – Angry residents in southwestern Chinese set fire to government offices and flipped over vehicles during four days of protests against a harsh population-control campaign, the International Herald Tribune reported.
There were conflicting reports of injuries and deaths.
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The rioting apparently was prompted by a crackdown in Guangxi province against violators of the country’s imposed limit on children per family.
Some claim the punishments include forced abortions and other measures against women; officials who do not meet annual population-control targets for their areas face demotion or removal from office.
Several people claim they were forced to pay fines more than once for the same offense under a new tax called the “social child-raising fee.”
The two-month-long campaign is part of efforts to limit the growth of China’s 1.3 billion population.
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