Chinese take to streets to protest chemical plant
Concern centers on air quality
BEIJING - Residents took to the streets of a provincial capital over the weekend to protest a multibillion-dollar petrochemical plant backed by China's leading state-run oil company, in the latest instance of popular discontent over an environmental threat in a major city.
The protest, against a $5.5 billion ethylene plant under construction by
The recent protest, which was peaceful, was organized through websites, blogs, and cellphone text messages, illustrating how some Chinese are using digital technology to spur civic movements, which are usually banned by the police. Organizers also used text messages to publicize their cause nationally.
Demonstrators walked calmly through downtown Chengdu for several hours Sunday afternoon to criticize the building of a combined ethylene plant and oil refinery in Pengzhou, 18 miles northwest of the city center. Some people wore white masks over their mouths to evoke the dangers of pollution. About 400 to 500 people took part in the march, witnesses said.
Organizers circumvented a national law that requires protesters to apply for a permit by saying they were only out for a "stroll."
Critics of the Pengzhou plan said in interviews yesterday that the government had not done proper environmental reviews of the project, which could pollute the air and water and lead to health hazards.
"We're not dissidents," said Wen Di, an independent blogger and former journalist living in Chengdu. "We're just people who care about our homeland. What we're saying is that if you want to have this project, you need to follow certain procedures: for example, a public hearing and independent environmental assessment. We want a fair and open process."
The protest captured the national spotlight yesterday when it was reported in The Beijing News, a newspaper that is popular with intellectuals and sometimes reports on issues that other state-run publications do not mention.
