Furniture plan sparks violence

Hundreds of angry furniture makers attacked police and blocked main roads in the southeastern city of Nankang yesterday morning, the first day of a controversial new tax plan to reshuffle the local furniture industry.

Local residents, who gathered along the furniture business district in the city, which is close to the provincial capital Nanchang in Jiangxi province, smashed and overturned police cars after gathering along the main street from 10 am yesterday.

A video shot on a mobile phone by a local resident showed at least five police vehicles were overturned. Photos posted online showed unrest spread from the city along national highway 105 and that hundreds more residents had gathered along other roads.