BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- A Communist Party of China (CPC) newspaper has urged governments at all levels to restrain from using force to control protests.

The Study Times, a weekly sponsored by the Party School of CPC Central Committee, said government officials should resolve mass incidents through negotiations, instead of resorting to force, which might intensify the conflicts.

Police force should only be involved in cases where mass incidents have violated laws and regulations, and the use of firearms should be undertaken with caution, it said.

Local governments should distinguish between a collective appeal for help to the higher authorities from a violation of the law, it said.

It urged officials at all levels to make more efforts to prevent mass incidents from happening by bridging China's expanding wealth gap and reducing regional inequality between the eastern and western part of the country.

The local governments should strengthen efforts against corrupt activities such as land grabs to ensure farmers' interests are not harmed, it said.

Earlier this month, villagers from the town of Zhushan in central China's Hunan province clashed with local police over rising bus fares.

Local police and government officials calmed the incident by force after villagers "burned several buses and surrounded the police station and threw stones at police officers."

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Chinese Communist Party paper calls for restraint in dealing with protests