By AFP | Feb 23, 2010
China artists march over Beijing demolition: state media
A group of about 20 Chinese artists including outspoken activist Ai Weiwei protested in central Beijing over the demolition of an art zone in the east of the capital, state media reported Tuesday.
The protest came amid simmering anger in China over land seizures, which have often involved corrupt officials keen to secure real estate profits as the country's property market booms.
The artists decried what they called "assaults by thugs hired by local authorities" to force them out of the complex, and said their land contracts were still valid, the state Global Times newspaper reported.
The government and land developers have said the artists need to move out to make way for redevelopment of the area.
An investigation has been launched into nine alleged assaults, the report said. Local officials denied any involvement in the purported beatings.
The artists attempted to reach Tiananmen Square, the heart of political power in China, but were stopped by police about two kilometres (one mile) away.
The Xinhua news agency said more than 10 police were sent to disperse the small group of demonstrators, naming Ai -- who has a popular but often censored blog -- as a participant in the march.
Ai leads a group of volunteers investigating the collapse of poorly built schools in the massive May 2008 earthquake in the southwestern province of Sichuan, which left more than 87,000 people dead or missing.
Earlier this month, Ai spoke out in support of US Internet giant Google -- currently in a row with China over censorship and cyber attacks -- and said in a commentary for The Wall Street Journal that his Gmail accounts had been hacked.
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