City of Chengdu Wracked by Riots

The U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong reported at noon today that the situation in other Chinese cities outside Beijing continued to deteriorate.

The worst unrest was in the main city of Chengdu in Sichuan province in central China. According to a U.S. official, downtown Chengdu now resembles the urban riots of the United States in the 1960s. The city’s main department store has been burned out and some residents of Chengdu have been smashing windows and looting other stores.

Overall, at least four people were reported to have died.

Crowds of Chengdu residents burst into the Jingiang Hotel, the main hotel for foreigners in the city, and the site of the U.S. Consulate there. American consular officials were said to have retired to their offices to keep safe from the turbulent crowd.

In Shanghai, meanwhile, roads throughout the city were so blocked with people in the streets that U.S. officials were uncertain whether it was possible to travel between the airport and downtown.

By contrast, in Canton, the situation remained relatively calm. “The Canton military region (commanders) are sitting this one out,” a U.S. consular official said today.

“They don’t want to move on their people at this time.”