The Chinese government says at least three villagers died last week after police fired on protesters in aconfrontation over demands for higher compensation for the loss of land to make way for the construction of a power plant.

The announcement on Xinhua, the state news agency, about the battle between villagers and the police in the village of Dongzhou, in Guangdong, southern China, represents a rare official account of the kind of demonstration that has become common during the past two years.