China orders petrochemical plant shutdown after protests

14.8.11

Chi­nese author­i­ties have ordered a petro­chem­i­cal plant to shut down imme­di­ate­ly after tens of thou­sands of pro­test­ers marched through the streets of a near­by city, demand­ing the fac­to­ry be relo­cat­ed.

The demon­stra­tion in Dalian – one of the biggest in a series of recent Nim­by ral­lies against poten­tial pol­luters in Chi­na – was sparked by the news last week that a pro­tec­tive dike around the Fujia fac­to­ry, in the Jinzhou indus­tri­al com­plex, had been breached by rain and high waves as typhoon Muifa approached.

In a rare con­ces­sion the local Com­mu­nist par­ty chief, Tang Jun, and Dalian’s may­or, Li Wan­cai, promised to move the project out of the city, Xin­hua report­ed.

The pro­test­ers demand­ed a clear timetable for mov­ing the plant, with some refus­ing to leave until a plan was in place, the state-run news agency said.  Read more here