Protests over industrial projects a challenge for China
An increasing number of mainlanders are not prepared to accept local government decisions on industrial projects made behind closed doors
Mainlanders are increasingly taking to the streets in protest over industrial development, a phenomenon analysts say is a serious challenge for local officials.
In the latest case, big demonstrations in the Zhejiang city of Ningbo successfully halted a plan to expand a Sinopec petrochemical complex.
Analysts said it had once again shown how rising environmental activism nis challenging an outdated mode of local governance - where decisions are made behind closed doors and critical information is kept from the public.
Amid widespread distrust of the city government's pledge to halt a 55.8-billion-yuan (HK$69.3 billion) expansion plan, Ningbo deputy mayor Chen Zhongchao spoke on Monday about the abandoned plan to increase production of toxic paraxylene, known as PX, which was the focus of public protests.
Widely used in paint and plastics, PX can damage the central nervous system, liver and kidneys if inhaled in large quantities. Chronic exposure may be fatal.
"Expansion of the petrochemical complex involves many facilities, and the PX production is only one of them, so it is not correct to say - as some people believed - that all 55.8 billion yuan would be spent on PX. Now the government and the investor have decided to completely drop the plan," Chen said.
An announcement by the Zhenhai district government last Wednesday avoided any mention of the PX project, triggering more discontent and leading to massive protests at the weekend.
