SCMP this morning provides some further information on the arrest of the official apparently in charge of the security forces at Dongzhou.

The report differed from a statement issued on Saturday by the Shanwei city government, which said only that city authorities were investigating the incident in Dongzhou village. Neither national newspapers nor Guangdong television reported the violence.

Mainland police have strict rules governing the use of firearms and it was not clear if the officer had clearance from his superiors to open fire on protesting villagers.

When contacted yesterday, Liu Jingmao , a vice-director of Shanwei Propaganda Department, declined to provide further details, including the name of the officer.

Sources in Dongzhou said the commanding officer was a vice-director of Shanwei Public Security Bureau but that could not be confirmed independently.

...

The detention of the officer did little to assuage the anger of villagers, who said they had lost faith in the local government. They urged the central government to investigate but feared that even Beijing's intervention might be too late.

"We do not trust any officials in Guangdong, even the provincial government," said one villager who sat with fellow villagers near last Tuesday's clash site. "They share the same interests and they would only cover for one another."

When a representative of Shanwei government approached villagers yesterday he was jeered by the crowd, who yelled: "Get out of here and go home."

And the arrest of the official in charge really is only a first step in the process of handling this botched operation. It's time for the central government to intervene and ensure that the local cover up of the relevant data is ended. Only transparency in government can recreate the trust between the governed and the governing. Only transparency in government can end the power of rumours, heresay, and ensure that journalists are reporting with complete and unstifled access to any and all information needed to do their jobs, so the public will have complete and unstifled access to any and all date and analysis needed to be informed citizens.