HUNDREDS RIOT IN CHINA, ATTACK POLICE, SMASH CARS

July 13, 2006

BEIJING (Reuters) - Hundreds of Chinese attacked police and smashed up squad cars after a migrant was apparently beaten up for refusing to pay for a resident's permit, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

The riot in Guiyang, capital of the southwestern province of Guizhou, was the latest eruption of unrest the Communist Party fears could spin out of control and threaten its monopoly on power.

At least one police officer and a taxi driver were wounded and more than 10 police cars were overturned, the Guizhou Metropolitan News said.

The violence started on Monday night when a migrant worker, surnamed Guo, refused to pay the fee for a temporary resident's permit and was beaten up, the newspaper said.

Guo told the newspaper that authorities dealing with the permit caused the wounds to his face. Police denied the charge, saying the wounds came from a drunken fall.

Local police reached by telephone declined to comment.

The newspaper said an "emotional and agitated" crowd, including Guo's relatives, started smashing up police cars, deflating tires, chasing police and attacking them with bricks.

Four men were arrested.

Migrant Chinese have to carry permits proving their right to live in cities. In 2003, a university student was beaten to death by police when he failed to provide his papers in the southern city of Guangzhou.

A widening gap between rich and poor, corruption and official abuses of power have fueled a growing number of demonstrations and riots around the country which are often sparked by seemingly minor issues.

In January, China's Ministry of Public Security said protests, riots and other "mass incidents" were rising, putting the total number of such incidents at 87,000 last year, up 6.6 percent from 2004.

Last month, thousands of university students in central China smashed windows and ransacked their campus in a riot sparked by anger over the wording of their diplomas.