Beijing police brawl over pastor; 5 injured

Police in Beijing’s central Chongwen district have been trying to suppress Hua Huiqi, an underground pastor who has fought against a development project in his neighborhood. Chongwen police moved Hua out of their jurisdiction Monday to Fengtai on the city’s southwestern edge, but the Fengtai police brought him back to his home Thursday, said Hua’s friend Zhou Li.

A fight broke out between the eight Fengtai police and a greater number of Chongwen police and men hired by the developer, New World China Land, Zhou said.

In the scuffle, four police were injured and Hua was knocked unconscious, Zhou said in an interview at the Tiantan Hospital where Hua was awaiting treatment. Police declined comment.

Hua, 45, lay unresponsive on a gurney in the emergency room. He had no obvious injuries but Zhou and another witness, Sui Xiaodi, both said he had been beaten on the head and back until he was knocked out.

Disputes between developers and local residents angry at being evicted for what they see as poor compensation have mushroomed across Beijing, which is in the midst of building boom ahead of next year’s Olympics. At the same time, police are under pressure to muzzle dissent for the Games and a Communist Party congress next week, forcing many known activists to leave the city.

New World China Land has been tearing down old houses in Hua’s neighborhood to make way for a new real estate development high rise. The home of Hua’s mother in Chongwen was torn down by the same developer in 2001 and the family says they have yet to be adequately compensated. The phone rang unanswered Thursday at the Chongwen district office of the company.

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