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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Protest prompts China to cancel Jiangmen uranium plant | Protest prompts China to cancel Jiangmen uranium plant |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| China has cancelled plans to build a uranium processing plant the day after hundreds of protesters took to the streets to oppose the project. | China has cancelled plans to build a uranium processing plant the day after hundreds of protesters took to the streets to oppose the project. |
| The 37bn yuan (£4bn) project, close to the southern city of Jiangmen, would have provided enough fuel for around half of China's atomic energy needs. | The 37bn yuan (£4bn) project, close to the southern city of Jiangmen, would have provided enough fuel for around half of China's atomic energy needs. |
| It had been part of a national effort to reduce China's reliance on coal and boost the use of clean energy. | It had been part of a national effort to reduce China's reliance on coal and boost the use of clean energy. |
| The rally was organised online and billed as an "innocent stroll". | The rally was organised online and billed as an "innocent stroll". |
| But it brought almost 1,000 people onto the streets of Jiangmen, which is just 100km (62 miles) from Hong Kong. | But it brought almost 1,000 people onto the streets of Jiangmen, which is just 100km (62 miles) from Hong Kong. |
| Protesters facing off with helmeted police officers chanted slogans and carried banners ranging from "Anti-nuclear" to "We want children, not atoms." | Protesters facing off with helmeted police officers chanted slogans and carried banners ranging from "Anti-nuclear" to "We want children, not atoms." |
| The rally followed an invitation for public comments during a 10-day consultation period after a risk evaluation report of the planned project was published on 4 July. | The rally followed an invitation for public comments during a 10-day consultation period after a risk evaluation report of the planned project was published on 4 July. |
| Effective move | Effective move |
| Protesters said that was not long enough to debate the pros and cons of such a major project. | Protesters said that was not long enough to debate the pros and cons of such a major project. |
| Within 24 hours of the street protest, the local government published a one-line statement rejecting the project. | Within 24 hours of the street protest, the local government published a one-line statement rejecting the project. |
| "The people's government of the city of Heshan has decided to respect the public opinion and will not consider CNNC's Longwan industrial park project," it said. | "The people's government of the city of Heshan has decided to respect the public opinion and will not consider CNNC's Longwan industrial park project," it said. |
| In the end it seems the desire for stability and order trumped other, more economic, reasons, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Shanghai. | |
| Public protests may be severely curtailed in China, but they can, on occasion, prove effective, he adds. | Public protests may be severely curtailed in China, but they can, on occasion, prove effective, he adds. |
| But some Jiangmen protesters are concerned the uranium plant project may just have been postponed, rather than cancelled altogether. | But some Jiangmen protesters are concerned the uranium plant project may just have been postponed, rather than cancelled altogether. |
| Environmental concerns are becoming an increasing focus of public dissent, forcing the cancellation of plans for a chemical plant in the coastal city of Xiamen in 2007, and a similar climb-down in the north-eastern city of Dalian in 2011, says our correspondent. | Environmental concerns are becoming an increasing focus of public dissent, forcing the cancellation of plans for a chemical plant in the coastal city of Xiamen in 2007, and a similar climb-down in the north-eastern city of Dalian in 2011, says our correspondent. |
| Earlier this year a retired, senior communist party official, Chen Jiping, told reporters that pollution concerns have replaced land disputes as the main cause of social unrest in China. | Earlier this year a retired, senior communist party official, Chen Jiping, told reporters that pollution concerns have replaced land disputes as the main cause of social unrest in China. |