Reports of a planned paraxylene (PX) plant in Jinshan District, Shanghai, have spurred several days of street protests by residents concerned about the potential environmental impact. On Saturday, protesters continued to march in Jinshan, on the outskirts of Shanghai, but were prevented from moving their demonstrations downtown. John Ruwitch reports for Reuters:
On Saturday evening, residents marched though city streets shouting “Go people of Jinshan”. Some carried signs reading “No good chemical plant”.
Police walked along with the protesters, but made no effort to stop them.
“This whole area is surrounded by chemical plants. I’ve had family members die of cancer and I bet everyone here has someone who has died of cancer,” said protester Xiao Wang.
“We’re doing this for the younger generation. We don’t want them to get sick.”
A lady who gave her family name as Ma added: “The level of trust that we have in the government is very low.” [Source]
Paul Traynor reports that in the Shanghai city center, planned protests were stymied by authorities:
Still skeptical, the residents planned to protest outside the municipal government in central Shanghai on Saturday, but the venue was guarded by hundreds of police, both uniformed and plainclothes. SWAT police patrolled police tapes fencing off the area the protesters planned to gather.
The police forced demonstrators to board buses before driving away from downtown Shanghai. Scuffles broke out with less obedient protesters. Police also grabbed an Associated Press reporter and tried to shove him away. Plainclothes officers used umbrellas to try to block filming.
“People got angry and started to chant, and then they were taken away by police,” said a Jinshan resident who only gave her family name of Shen. [Source]
Shanghai's week-long anti-PX protest seems 2 have waned after gov measures, incl reduced internet speed, take effect pic.twitter.com/fm0zhCh5RD
— Maya Wang 王松莲 (@wang_maya) June 29, 2015
上海万人示威反PX之6月27日晚上 anti-PX protest shanghai （一） https://t.co/dSmeBoV0e9 via @YouTube
— Qiao Yan Luo (@Rumi_Luo) June 28, 2015
［视频］上海万人示威反PX之6月27日晚上 anti-PX protest shanghai （二） https://t.co/YyeUBPDyRK via @YouTube
— 非新聞 (@wickedonnaa) June 27, 2015
［视频］上海万人示威反PX之6月27日白天 （二）anti-PX protest shanghai https://t.co/XWkyCSCW8L via @YouTube
— 非新聞 (@wickedonnaa) June 27, 2015
［视频］上海万人示威反PX之6月27日晚上 anti-PX protest shanghai （一） https://t.co/UqjuJ1wwiy via @YouTube
— 非新聞 (@wickedonnaa) June 27, 2015
According to FreeWeibo, both Jinshan and Shanghai were among the top searches on Weibo:
上海万人示威反PX之6月27日晚上 anti-PX protest shanghai （一） https://t.co/dSmeBoV0e9 via @YouTube
— Qiao Yan Luo (@Rumi_Luo) June 28, 2015
Read more about the Jinshan protests and other demonstrations against PX via CDT.
