China PX plant protests spread to provincial capital Guangzhou

April 1, 2014 12:08 pm

China PX plant protests spread to provincial capital Guangzhou

By Demetri Sevastopulo in Hong Kong

Opposition to a chemical plant in China’s Guangdong province spread to Guangzhou on Tuesday as several hundred protesters demonstrated in the provincial capital.

The protests come two days after thousands of residents of Maoming clashed with police in demonstrations against the building of a plant to manufacture paraxylene (PX), a chemical used to make plastic bottles.

While the situation in Maoming had eased by Tuesday, the spread of the protests to Guangzhou will raise the profile of the issue.

“Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong, so we can have more influence here,” a protest organiser called Mr Dai told the Financial Times. “Many people in Guangzhou are unaware of the Maoming protest. We want the public to know about the violence used by the Maoming local government.”

The demonstrators gathered near the headquarters of the provincial government, carrying banners with slogans such as, “Who gave [the government] the right to beat people?” Organisers used QQ, an instant messaging service run by Tencent, to call 2,000 people to join the demonstrations, Mr Dai said. But only 300 turned up after the organisers’ message groups were deleted.

Mr Dai said police had beaten and detained three protesters. Another demonstrator said the protesters were stopped by police when they tried to march on the provincial government headquarters. She added that some were heading to Zhujiang New Town, a modern business district where the US consulate is located, to attract more attention.

The Guangzhou demonstration came as Maoming appeared to soften its stance on the protests. On Monday evening, the local government issued a conciliatory statement on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, calling on residents to express their opinions peacefully and saying the views of its 5m citizens would be taken into account.

“We will definitely listen to public opinion via various channels before making a decision on the project launch,” it said. “If a majority of residents object, we will not make a decision contrary to public opinion.”

Its statement marked a softer tone from earlier on Monday, when it said the protests were a “serious violation against the law and [have] severely impacted social order”.

Unverified images on Weibo had showed paramilitary police marching in Maoming and several bloodied people lying on the streets.

While one person on Weibo said four people were killed in clashes on Sunday, the Maoming government said nobody had died.

One person familiar with the situation said the Maoming government itself had qualms about the PX project, and it was delayed while they determined whether there would be significant local opposition.

Campaigns to reassure people PX production will not harm their health appear to have caused even more concern about the project.

Sinopec, the Chinese refining giant, has declined to comment on the proposed Maoming plant, which would be attached to its refinery in the city.

In recent years, Chinese citizens have stepped up protests against facilities they think pose a health risk. There have been at least three big campaigns in China against PX plants, including one in 2007 in the wealthy coastal city of Xiamen that successful forced it to be relocated.

On Tuesday, Global Times, a hardline Communist party newspaper, criticised the Maoming protests, saying “the whole country seems to be trapped in a negative cycle of protests and suspension of PX plants”. It blamed a lack of communication between local governments and residents as well as concerns about pollution.

“We don’t believe all planned PX projects in China in recent years are unreasonable, ridden with environmental dangers,” said Global Times. “Therefore, a strong local government is needed so that it can withstand pressure, be capable and patient in negotiating with the public. Can Maoming act this way? We hope so.”

Chinese censors on Monday blocked searches for “Maoming” and “Maoming PX” but on Tuesday afternoon it was again possible to search for the term “Maoming”.