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Protest in Shanghai over housing regulations

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SHANGHAI: Hundreds of demonstrators marched through a shopping district in the Chinese city of Shanghai to protest against changes to housing regulations, in a rare show of public dissent in the financial hub.

Footage of the late Saturday protests shared on social media showed hundreds, if not thousands, of demonstrators holding placards and shouting slogans while marching along Nanjing Road, a glitzy shopping strip in the city centre.

One video seen by Reuters showed police setting up blockades and dragging a demonstrator away.

Local media carried no reports of the demonstrations, while mentions of the protests on social media were scrubbed by Internet censors.

Two witnesses told Reuters that police took away about 10 of the protesters who were hoisting banners and appeared to be leading the demonstrations.

Protesters were angry about measures announced on May 17 by Shanghai's housing bureau to "clean up and rectify" commercial office projects that had been converted into apartments to cater for residential needs, in a grey area property developers previously exploited by acquiring land at cheaper prices than residential-zoned land. 
- REUTERS

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