ET reported that Mr Lao Zhou splutters with rage when asked if he believes government promises to scrap plans for a copper refinery near his home in southwest China a project which has sparked violent protests. They're liars the ruddy faced farmer exclaims spitting out his words in thickly accented Mandarin. Nobody believes they won't build it eventually.
It was a remnant of the fury that erupted in Sichuan province's Shifang town last week, when thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the USD 1.6 billion refinery that they feared would poison their families. The city government swiftly called off the project.
Such protests and back downs are becoming more frequent as the world's second largest economy pursues headlong growth. In August 2011, thousands of protesters forced the closure of a paraxylene plant after marching on the city square in the major city of Dalian in northeastern China.
While China faces tens of thousands of mass incidents every year over pollution, as well as issues like corruption the Shifang uprising captured national attention and was widely discussed on popular microblogs with little apparent censorship.
China based Western diplomat said that "This issue has really struck a chord with people. It's a perception problem more than anything, a lack of trust in the government. There's not enough information. This was a project after all which had been approved by the environmental authorities."
The unrest sparked by the government's plans to allow construction of the plant was the latest instance of public protests blocking industrial expansion because of environmental concerns.
Shanghai listed Sichuan Hongda, one of China's biggest zinc and lead producers, issued a statement after the protests maintaining that it was a government-approved project with the highest environmental standards. The project would have an important boosting effect for fiscal revenue, promoting employment and improving people's livelihood.
Source - Economictimes.indiatimes.com
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