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RFA: Thousands of Shanghai Residents Protested PX Project for 3 Days

From June 21 to June 23, 2015, hundreds to thousands of Shanghai residents from the Jinshan District of Shanghai City marched on the streets to protest a paraxylene (PX) petrochemical project to be relocated in the Jinshan District of Shanghai. They feared the pollution. Wu Lihong, an environmental campaigner, said, "PX plants are not welcome anywhere in China." He pointed out, "Movements opposing PX plants have formed in Xiamen, Dalian, Ningbo, and other cities." After local residents protested for three consecutive days, the district government announced through an Internet post that no PX project would be relocated to Jinshan district. The protest still continued, even after the Internet posting, as the local residents do not trust the government’s word.

On June 22, the demonstrators asked the Jinshan district top leader to step forward and to express his opinion on the PX project openly. The district leader did not show up. On the other hand, a lot of Internet discussions were posted on the PX project topic or on the Jinshan district. The local government dispatched a large number of police guards to the scene. Some people were beaten and a 16-year-old boy was arrested.

Sources: Radio Free Asia, June 22 & 24, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/huanjing/hc-06222015121332.html
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/huanjing/yf1-06242015101717.html