Clash Erupts at Under-Construction Bridge in Guangxi, Workers Arrested After Failing to Obtain Salary

Recently, a video that appears to show a “group conflict on a highway bridge in Guangxi” has sparked attention online. The video shows under a shroud of mist, on an unfinished bridge, two groups of people engaged in a violent physical altercation. With no guardrails on either side of the bridge and a deep valley below, the scene is enough to make one’s heart race.

According to mainland Chinese media, the incident occurred on October 10th last year at the under-construction Longbeidi Bridge, which was being built by the China 19th Metallurgical Corporation’s Guangxi branch.

Involved worker Wang Fei explained that in August 2024, due to delayed payments for project progress and partial wages for workers, the project had to be halted, and they were owed over one million yuan. On October 10th, he and other workers went to the bridge site to demand their wages. Unexpectedly, the China 19th Metallurgical Corporation organized a group of security personnel to block them.

The video shows that the bridge was still unfinished, with no formal guardrails on the sides, only some areas fenced off with makeshift railings. Beyond these railings is a deep valley about a hundred meters below. Two groups of people were positioned on either side of the bridge. On one side were workers holding banners demanding their wages, with messages like “China 19th Metallurgical owes project funds” and “wage-demanding workers.” On the other side were security personnel holding shields, with workers in blue uniforms standing not far behind. The two sides were separated by iron railings about a meter high and were arguing with each other. Suddenly, the security personnel took the initiative to snatch the banners from the workers, leading to a physical altercation. Soon after, workers in blue uniforms also joined in, and chaos ensued on the bridge with dozens of people involved. During the conflict, many sections of the makeshift railings on the sides of the bridge were hit. If someone were to accidentally fall off the bridge, the consequences would be unimaginable. The conflict lasted for about three to four minutes, after which the workers were forced to call the police, and the incident – dubbed the “cloud conflict” – was finally quelled.

The conflict resulted in injuries to several individuals from both sides. Wang Fei and 12 of his coworkers were taken into custody, with six of them being arrested by the local prosecutor’s office on suspicion of “disturbing social order by gathering crowds” and subsequently prosecuted. None of the China 19th Metallurgical Corporation security personnel were arrested, nor were they punished.

The case was brought to trial in the local court on March 7th this year, and the judgment has not been made public yet.