SPEAKING OF SURGES...:

Protests on the Rise in China as Dongzhou Marks Bloodshed (Radio Free Asia, 2007.12.07)

When Chinese security forces opened fire on local protesters in the southern township of Dongzhou two years ago, the world suddenly took notice as never before of China’s surging rural unrest.

Now, as Dongzhou remembers its dead—the official tally is three—reports of similar rural protests over land acquisition by local government, among other grievances, are surfacing several times a week. Meanwhile, life-threatening pollution problems and unpaid wages are likely to send China's urbanites out onto the streets.