Thousands of protestors hit with tear gas

Police fired tear gas into crowds of protesters who blocked a key railway in eastern China, in the latest case of social unrest across the country. Witnesses said thousands of protesters and onlookers gathered at the main railway station in Jiangxi province's Guixi township, to demonstrate against a pending merger of their town with a larger city, AFP reported. Onlookers said police injured at least 40 people and photos posted online showed hundreds of riot police trying to control protestors that were throwing rocks at them. A separate 20,000-person protest recently over transport fees in Zhushan village lead to one death and many injuries. The government has said the number of "mass incidents" in the country, including protests, petitions and demonstrations, came to 23,000 in 2006.