Police officers rarely use force against demonstrators, resorting to persuasion to disperse them. They are sympathetic as the police often have relatives suffering from the same problems. The actual figure is believed to be far greater as protests in rural areas often go unreported. Exorbitant taxes, fines for having too many children or land disputes have also driven many peasants to march on government offices to air their complaints. In a sign of how serious the problem has become, China's cabinet, the State Council, announced Friday that pensions and unemployment compensation must be paid on time and in full and that companies or local governments would be investigated for any violations.
China is still able to control the situation at the moment.
In the biggest case of unrest in years, more than 20,000 miners and their families in Liaoning fought police for three days in February, angry over the small compensation they would receive from the closure of their bankrupt mine. They burned cars and blocked a railway line. The protest was quelled only after armed police came in and fired shots into the air. They dispersed only after officials agreed to pay them three months' salary. Those protest made headlines but many smaller protests also occur across China.