Residents protest over incinerator project
- Source: Global Times
- [03:13 November 24 2009]
- Comments
Opposition to a planned incinerator project in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province Monday
By Zhang Lei
Opposition to a planned incinerator project in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province intensified Monday after hundreds of people staged a protest outside a government office, demonstrators said.
An Associated Press report said that about 400 protesters took part in the demonstration while several hundred police officers surrounded the crowd and roped off the streets in order to stop hundreds more from joining.
The initial group of 200 people arrived at Guangzhou Management Committee office at about 9 am Monday, the monthly open house when officials receive visitors and hear their views on urban construction and administration.
Since so many were unable to meet with the officials, they walked to a nearby government office building. Some wore masks and carried signs that said, "No trash incineration and preserve green Guangzhou." They left at about 3 pm.
"We hoped the officials could talk to all of us, but they insisted we send five representatives to negotiate with them," a Panyu resident surnamed Lü told the Global Times Monday in a telephone interview. He said protestors refused to "be represented," and demanded the resignation of Lü Zhiyi, former director of City Appearance, Environment and Sanitation Bureau, due to his "notorious record."
Lü, now the deputy secretary general of the Guangzhou government, told reporters Sunday he supports the project and that the plan was "unshakable." Some villagers from Panyu told reporters that they were blocked from joining the demonstration.
Wen Yunchao, a popular blogger based in Guangzhou, told the Global Times that the protest was unorganized but was generally peaceful.
"Since we didn't agree to have representatives selected among us, the protest ended without a solution," he said.
"But it's a good start for people to take serious action and express themselves without feeling frightened," he added. Some residents put the number at between 1,500 and 2,000, but police did not confirm the figures.
Many residents succeeded in their bid to have a meeting with the officials. Zhang Jianguo, deputy director of Guangzhou city management committee, said he told the residents at the meeting that the incinerator issue could be discussed and people who oppose it could pose questions, according to dayoo. com, a news website hosted by Guangzhou Daily.
Panyu, a district with a population of 2.5 million, produced about 600,000 tons of garbage last year, or 1,640 tons a day, according to Ye Wen, deputy director of Panyu Urban Utilities and Landscape Bureau.
"The area is under the threat of a trash overspill, as 2,200 tons of garbage are expected per day by 2010, exceeding the capacity of the current landfill dump," he said.
