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| Plan to Burn Waste Sets Off Protests in Southern China | Plan to Burn Waste Sets Off Protests in Southern China |
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| HONG KONG — Residents of a county in southern China thronged the streets in protest over the weekend to oppose a proposed garbage incineration plant, defying government warnings and police detentions. The protest was the latest of a succession of demonstrations against waste-disposal projects by pollution-weary Chinese citizens. | HONG KONG — Residents of a county in southern China thronged the streets in protest over the weekend to oppose a proposed garbage incineration plant, defying government warnings and police detentions. The protest was the latest of a succession of demonstrations against waste-disposal projects by pollution-weary Chinese citizens. |
| A street march broke out on Saturday in Boluo County, Guangdong Province, and three residents contacted by telephone said the protest had resumed on Sunday, when residents again walked toward government offices in the main town, despite a police announcement, issued through the domestic news media, that 24 people had already been detained over the confrontation. The residents all spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing fears of arrest. | A street march broke out on Saturday in Boluo County, Guangdong Province, and three residents contacted by telephone said the protest had resumed on Sunday, when residents again walked toward government offices in the main town, despite a police announcement, issued through the domestic news media, that 24 people had already been detained over the confrontation. The residents all spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing fears of arrest. |
| “We strongly urge the government authorities to reconsider the siting of the waste incineration plant,” said an appeal against the project that spread on the Internet in China. One of the Boluo residents who helped with the appeal confirmed it had come from there. | “We strongly urge the government authorities to reconsider the siting of the waste incineration plant,” said an appeal against the project that spread on the Internet in China. One of the Boluo residents who helped with the appeal confirmed it had come from there. |
| If the plan went ahead, the letter said, there was “the risk of an expanding and deepening conflict.” | If the plan went ahead, the letter said, there was “the risk of an expanding and deepening conflict.” |
| The conflict brought into local focus a much wider problem across China: the chasm of distrust between a government struggling with mounting garbage from homes and industry, and a public that often has little confidence in official promises to cleanly dispose of that garbage. The conflict is especially acute in southern China, which is dense with people, industry and expanding cities. | The conflict brought into local focus a much wider problem across China: the chasm of distrust between a government struggling with mounting garbage from homes and industry, and a public that often has little confidence in official promises to cleanly dispose of that garbage. The conflict is especially acute in southern China, which is dense with people, industry and expanding cities. |
| The Boluo government has said the proposed incinerator would be able to burn 700 metric tons of waste a day, generating power while releasing minimal pollution with no dangerous amounts of toxins. But in Boluo, government vows of safe disposal of garbage have been met with disbelief from residents fearful of toxins and sometimes convinced that such plants are corrupt boondoggles. | |
| “Of course, the government would say it’s safe,” said one of the residents who helped write the public appeal. “But if the river here is polluted, then we’ll all be harmed, and there’s also the problem of air pollution from the dioxins.” | “Of course, the government would say it’s safe,” said one of the residents who helped write the public appeal. “But if the river here is polluted, then we’ll all be harmed, and there’s also the problem of air pollution from the dioxins.” |
| The Boluo government said that about a thousand residents protested on Saturday. Online, however, some people claimed that the number was at least 10,000. Pictures and video from the scene, posted online by Chinese news websites, suggested that perhaps a few thousand took to the streets of the county seat, also called Luoyang. One of the residents contacted by phone said a crowd of about the same size assembled on Sunday, but two other residents said it appeared to be smaller. | The Boluo government said that about a thousand residents protested on Saturday. Online, however, some people claimed that the number was at least 10,000. Pictures and video from the scene, posted online by Chinese news websites, suggested that perhaps a few thousand took to the streets of the county seat, also called Luoyang. One of the residents contacted by phone said a crowd of about the same size assembled on Sunday, but two other residents said it appeared to be smaller. |
| Pictures of the protest on Saturday showed residents, young and old, holding up banners, including one that declared, “Oppose the garbage incineration site as unsuitable, people of Boluo unite and defend our home.” Other pictures showed rows of riot police officers with shields and helmets guarding the county government offices, and children holding up pieces of paper with the word “resist. | Pictures of the protest on Saturday showed residents, young and old, holding up banners, including one that declared, “Oppose the garbage incineration site as unsuitable, people of Boluo unite and defend our home.” Other pictures showed rows of riot police officers with shields and helmets guarding the county government offices, and children holding up pieces of paper with the word “resist. |
| Air, water and soil pollution have become sources of public protest and discontent in China, where the Communist Party often deploys legions of security forces against even small, peaceful assemblies. In Boluo, too, the government ordered the police to quell the protest. Eight of the 24 people detained were released after official admonitions, but the police said they were still hunting for more leaders of the demonstration, according to news reports that quoted the county’s public security bureau. | Air, water and soil pollution have become sources of public protest and discontent in China, where the Communist Party often deploys legions of security forces against even small, peaceful assemblies. In Boluo, too, the government ordered the police to quell the protest. Eight of the 24 people detained were released after official admonitions, but the police said they were still hunting for more leaders of the demonstration, according to news reports that quoted the county’s public security bureau. |
| The instigators had “organized members of the public who do not understand the truth to take to the street in an unlawful assembly and march,” the police announcement said. It added that other people who initiated the protests had three days to surrender to the authorities, or they would face harsher punishment. | The instigators had “organized members of the public who do not understand the truth to take to the street in an unlawful assembly and march,” the police announcement said. It added that other people who initiated the protests had three days to surrender to the authorities, or they would face harsher punishment. |
| “The public security authorities will also apply the law to sternly strike against groups or individuals who spread rumors on the Internet,” the announcement said. | “The public security authorities will also apply the law to sternly strike against groups or individuals who spread rumors on the Internet,” the announcement said. |
| Later, the police said that they had detained eight people in Boluo who were accused of “spreading false information on the Internet,” according to a report by the China News Service, a state-controlled news agency. Three of the people were released after receiving a warning and expressing remorse; the other five remained in detention because their violations were considered more serious. | |
| On Sunday, the Boluo County government’s website was hacked, and its front page had been replaced with a picture apparently from the protest, and an angry message that said, “The Constitution grants citizens freedom of assembly.” | On Sunday, the Boluo County government’s website was hacked, and its front page had been replaced with a picture apparently from the protest, and an angry message that said, “The Constitution grants citizens freedom of assembly.” |
| The protest came after the government of Huizhou, an administrative area that includes Boluo County, gave more detailed plans for the plant in August. | The protest came after the government of Huizhou, an administrative area that includes Boluo County, gave more detailed plans for the plant in August. |
| Officials said the incinerator would be the cleanest way to deal with the waste, and it would be built a safe distance of at least 500 meters, or about 550 yards, from the nearest residents. | Officials said the incinerator would be the cleanest way to deal with the waste, and it would be built a safe distance of at least 500 meters, or about 550 yards, from the nearest residents. |
| But many residents said they did not believe the officials’ statements. Their chief worry was that the plant would emit dioxins and other pollutants into the air and a nearby river, posing a risk to their health, a claim that Boluo officials have rejected in interviews with local newspapers. | But many residents said they did not believe the officials’ statements. Their chief worry was that the plant would emit dioxins and other pollutants into the air and a nearby river, posing a risk to their health, a claim that Boluo officials have rejected in interviews with local newspapers. |
| Other cities across China are dealing with similar tensions between the growing need for waste disposal and rising public anxiety and ire about pollution. In May, a demonstration against a planned waste incinerator near one of eastern China’s biggest cities, Hangzhou, turned violent, leaving about 10 demonstrators and 29 police officers injured. There have also been protests in Guangdong Province, mostly peaceful gatherings that participants, in an effort to avoid arrest, have described as “mass strolls.” | Other cities across China are dealing with similar tensions between the growing need for waste disposal and rising public anxiety and ire about pollution. In May, a demonstration against a planned waste incinerator near one of eastern China’s biggest cities, Hangzhou, turned violent, leaving about 10 demonstrators and 29 police officers injured. There have also been protests in Guangdong Province, mostly peaceful gatherings that participants, in an effort to avoid arrest, have described as “mass strolls.” |
| Sometimes, protests have prompted local governments to delay or cancel waste disposal plants and other industrial projects. On Sunday, The Huizhou Daily, the official newspaper of an area that includes Boluo, quoted a government spokesman who denied that the proposed plant’s site had already been decided and hinted at some leeway regarding the matter’s resolution. | Sometimes, protests have prompted local governments to delay or cancel waste disposal plants and other industrial projects. On Sunday, The Huizhou Daily, the official newspaper of an area that includes Boluo, quoted a government spokesman who denied that the proposed plant’s site had already been decided and hinted at some leeway regarding the matter’s resolution. |