China faces surging protests and riots in 2009 as rising
unemployment stokes discontent, a state-run magazine said
in a blunt warning of the hazards to Communist Party control
from a sharp economic downturn.
The unusually stark report in this week's Outlook (Liaowang)
Magazine, issued by the official Xinhua news agency, said
faltering growth could spark anger among millions of migrant
workers and university graduates left jobless.
"Without doubt, now we're entering a peak period for
mass incidents," a senior Xinhua reporter, Huang Huo,
told the magazine, using the official euphemism for riots
and protests.
"In 2009, Chinese society may face even more conflicts
and clashes that will test even more the governing abilities
of all levels of the Party and government."
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President Hu Jintao has vowed to make China a "harmonious
society," but his promise is being tested by rising tension
over shrinking jobs and incomes, as well as long-standing
anger over corruption and land seizures.
