Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The rising number of protests and violent clashes in China “has become the most destabilizing factor in the country, posing a challenge to the Communist Party's ability to rule,” China’s official news agency, Xinhua, said yesterday.

The article urges Communist leaders to use public force “prudently” when tackling “mass incidents”, a euphemism to describe popular unrest and clashes with police. The appeal was made to Beijing one year after the Dongzhou tragedy, when police shot dead at least three demonstrators who were protesting against the corruption of their village leaders.

The last three decades of economic reform have improved the economy both at home and abroad but they have also widened the gap between rich and poor, and urban and rural areas. This has led to strong resentment among the people, who are embittered by illegal seizure of their farm land, pollution of land and water, and redundancies in state companies that were gradually privatized.

The Xinhua editorial said: “The huge number and broad scope of mass incidents has become the most outstanding problem that seriously impacts social stability. They reflect the various social conflicts and problems coming up at this crucial stage of our reforms."

China is “harmonious and stable in general, but dealing appropriately with mass incidents against the background of profound changes in social and economic structures is a major test of the leadership's rule.”

Moreover, “some incidents, economic disputes, have been politicized, while some have become increasingly violent.”

The article also criticized “Chinese lawyers and human rights activists, as well as foreign journalists”, who have been harassed, beaten or detained for following protests and riots. They represent “hostile forces and elements inside and outside China that have tried whatever they can to intervene in and take advantage of the mass incidents in an attempt to instigate and create turbulence.”

Beijing is failing to prevent anti-government rallies that often degenerate into clashes with police. Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang has said they are on the rise: in 1994, there were 10,000 and in 2004, there were more than 74,000. In 2005, more than 87,000 public protests took place in China.

Everyday, Beijing records between 120 and 230 protests, mostly in rural areas. Local administrators seize land and sell them to companies and industries eager to expand production or to implement ostentatious projects. Residents stripped of their land and badly compensated have no other way but to protest, often violently.

The government fears this trend and is continually organizing anti-corruption campaigns: the latest, launched on 13 November, demands that local officials manage the relocation of evicted people fairly.