Mark Magnier of the Los Angeles Times reports from Dujiangyan, Sichuan:
Though the government has generally received good marks for responding quickly to China’s worst natural disaster in more than 30 years, tempers are starting to flare.
About 200 angry people surrounded an aid official Tuesday at a camp in a sports stadium in Mianyang, shouting: “We’re hungry!” “We need food!” and “What’s wrong with our government?”
Members of the crowd, some of whom had walked for 12 hours from remote mountain villages, said they were told they were ineligible for food aid because government officials could not be found to give them the required identity card.
Chinese BBS and blogs have posted photos and reports about a riot breaking out in Luojiang county of Deyang （德阳), Sichuan on May 21. Accusing local officials of embezzling earthquake relief aid and materials, angry crowds beat some officials before police came to control the situation, according to these reports.
