BEIJING (AP) — Hundreds of villagers in eastern China
have demonstrated in recent days against pollution they say is caused by
a solar panel factory, with some protesters storming the compound and
overturning vehicles, local authorities and residents said Sunday.
More
than 500 villagers in Zhejiang province’s Haining city gathered in
front of the Zhejiang Jinko Solar Co. Ltd. factory on Thursday demanding
an explanation for the alleged pollution, the Haining government said
in a statement.
The company is a subsidiary of a New York Stock
Exchange-listed Chinese solar company, JinkoSolar Holding Co. Calls to
both the Zhejiang company and its parent firm rang unanswered Sunday.
It
is the latest protest in China driven by environmental concerns and
highlights citizens’ increasing boldness in demanding action from the
authoritarian government.
Some of the protesters charged into the
factory compound Thursday, overturned eight company vehicles and
destroyed its offices, the government said. On Friday, demonstrators
damaged four police vehicles. Local residents contacted by phone said
villagers have protested every night since Thursday.
Video footage
posted on the website of the city government’s information office
showed that the factory’s windows had been smashed and that dozens of
police officers were deployed to the site.
The factory’s waste
disposal has been failing pollution tests since April and despite being
warned by authorities, the plant has not effectively controlled the
pollution, the official Xinhua News Agency cited Chen Hongming, deputy
head of Haining’s environmental protection bureau, as saying.
A
64-year-old Hongxiao villager surnamed Shi said not only does the
factory discharge waste water into a river, it also spews dense smoke
out of a dozen chimneys.
"An elementary school and a kindergarten
are located less than a kilometer (0.6 mile) from the plant. My house is
only about 500 meters (550 yards) from the plant. Many fish died after
the factory discharged waste into a small river," Shi said in a phone
interview.
"The villagers strongly request that this factory be
moved to another area. I am very worried about the health of the younger
generation," he said.
Last month, 12,000 residents in the
northeastern port city of Dalian protested against a chemical plant
after waves from a tropical storm broke a dike guarding the plant and
raised fears that flood waters could release toxic chemicals. The
massive protests prompted the deployment of riot police and a pledge by
local officials to relocate the plant. A similar protest in 2007 in
Xiamen was also successful.
But while protests in middle-class
cities like Dalian and Xiamen have succeeded, the government rarely
gives in and demonstrations in rural villages don’t often work.
The
latest protests also expose the dirty side of clean energy. Along a
similar vein, China has seen scores of protests by villagers in recent
years over lead poisoning. The soaring use of cars and electric scooters
is driving strong demand for lead acid batteries, and their production
and recycling are a key source of lead contamination.
In Zhejiang,
the Haining government said it had asked the solar panel factory to
suspend production and that local leaders would soon meet with village
representatives.
Local police have caught people suspected of
theft and vandalism, while a 33-year-old man surnamed Sun has been
detained for "spreading false information online" earlier this month
about an increase in cancer cases in the nearby village of Hongxiao, the
statement said.
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Associated Press researcher Henry Hou contributed to this report.
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Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.