WORLD : Beijing Boycott Calls Supported

BEIJING — Calls for a class boycott to press demands for greater democracy won widespread support at Beijing campuses today, but there was little evidence of student strikes spreading to other cities.

The exact number of participants in the boycott was not known, but students at a dozen schools with total enrollment of more than 50,000 said virtually all their classmates were striking. Authorities took no open steps to interfere, but sources said more than 10,000 soldiers from outlying counties moved into Beijing over the weekend in preparation for an eventual crackdown.

There were no reports of new student activities in other cities today. Foreign sources reported new looting Sunday night in the central city of Changsha in Hunan province, where young toughs mixed in with a student protest Saturday and went on a rampage.