Chinese Protest, and Tweet, Against Trash Incinerator
2009-11-26 10:46
They are concerned about pollution and toxic emissions. More than a thousand Guangzhou residents held a protest on Monday against local officials building a rubbish incinerator near their homes.
There were many middle-class people among the protesters—which is unusual, compared with the hundreds of thousands of demonstrations held by peasants across the Chinese countryside each year.
The protesters also sent real-time updates with their cell phones using Twitter, a “micro-blogging” service. Although Twitter is blocked by the Chinese regime, a lot of people are using proxy servers to get around that. They’ve also posted many photographs and videos on the Internet.
The protest started at the local petition office in Panyu district, and then moved to the city government building, according to a Southern Metropolis Daily account which was later censored.
Protesters handed out leaflets and bumper stickers, and held papers saying “oppose rubbish incinerator.” According to the Daily’s report, one photocopy shop owner supported the protestors by making copies of the sign for free.
There were many middle-class people among the protesters—which is unusual, compared with the hundreds of thousands of demonstrations held by peasants across the Chinese countryside each year.
The protesters also sent real-time updates with their cell phones using Twitter, a “micro-blogging” service. Although Twitter is blocked by the Chinese regime, a lot of people are using proxy servers to get around that. They’ve also posted many photographs and videos on the Internet.
The protest started at the local petition office in Panyu district, and then moved to the city government building, according to a Southern Metropolis Daily account which was later censored.
Protesters handed out leaflets and bumper stickers, and held papers saying “oppose rubbish incinerator.” According to the Daily’s report, one photocopy shop owner supported the protestors by making copies of the sign for free.
The plant is supposed to replace two landfills at Huijiang village in the city's Panyu district, and would burn 2,000 tons of trash a day.
Residents are concerned about how the pollution and carcinogenetic dioxins would affect the environment and people’s health. The more upwardly mobile among the group were also concerned that the effects of the incinerator would decrease real-estate values.
Several local television stations sent reporters to cover the event. The protesters diffused after Communist Party officials announced the construction would not go ahead until an environmental assessment was carried out—but they didn’t say when.
In 2005 a waste incineration plant was built in Likeng village, also in Guangzhou. Afterwards, the incidence of cancer increased considerably.
