19 September 2011
A solar panel factory in eastern China has been shut down after protests by local residents over pollution fears.
Some 500 villagers staged a three-day protest following the death of large numbers of fish in a local river.
Some demonstrators broke into the plant in Zhejiang province, destroying offices and overturning company cars before being dispersed by riot police.
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RIOTS have broken out in China against a factory polluting local water as resistance grows globally to the neoliberal industrial nightmare.
Reports China Forbidden News: “Villagers in Haining city, Zhejiang province in China have held three days of protest against Jinko Solar Co. discharging heavy cancer-causing pollution.
“Villagers and journalists were beaten by company security. The protesters beat local officials and overturned four police cars. The police also fired tear gas.
“Online sources state that over 10 people are injured or dead.
“A human rights activist said that Chinese Communist Party’ (CCP) system was causing the struggle in people’s lives.
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“We feel that it is socially responsible to close the factory first and to take corrective measures,” company spokesman Thomas Jing told the BBC.
He said there had been accidental discharge into the surrounding area during a rainstorm at the end of August.
He said chemicals used at the factory had been stored in an open area rather than a warehouse, and that the covering had been ripped off during the unexpectedly harsh weather.
Mr Jing said the firm was investigating whether the fluoride was responsible for the death of the fish. A clean-up was also under way, he said.
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“The Jinko Solar company is a subsidiary of a New York Stock Exchange-listed Chinese solar company, fully financed by Hong Kong Paker Technology Co., Ltd.
“They produce solar wafers, cells and other products, exporting to more than twenty countries within Europe, Asia, and the United States.
“The plant is located in Haining city, Zhejiang province and Shangrao city, Jiangxi province.
There are over 10,000 employees and the plant covers more than 165 acres.
“Villagers blame the company for discharging polluted water and harmful gases into the environment, causing the massive deaths of fish floating in the river.
“Local villagers found that there were over 10 people who developed cancer as a result of the pollution.”
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This is the latest example of Chinese citizens being spurred to action over environmental worries. Last week, Shanghai halted production at two factories over worries about lead poisoning.
Last month, a chemical factory in the north-eastern city of Dalian was ordered to move after 12,000 residents took to the streets over pollution fears.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14968605
http://vastminority.blogspot.com/2011/09/chinese-villagers-riot-over-pollution.html