The Qidong protest was an environmental protest against a proposed waste water pipeline in the Chinese city of
Qidong province. The protest took place on 28 July 2012. The pipeline, which would have dumped industrial waste water into the sea, was to be part of a paper factory owned jointly by Japan's
Oji Paper Company
is a Japanese manufacturer of paper products. In 2012 the company was the third largest company in the global forest, paper and packaging industry.
The company's stock is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the stock is constituent of the Ni ...
.
[William Bi]
"Chinese City Halts Waste Project After Thousands Protest"
''Bloomberg'', 28 July 2012. Thousands of citizens took to the streets demanding the cancellation of the project, citing environmental concerns. An estimated 1,000 protesters stormed government offices, overturning vehicles, and forcing the city's mayor to strip off his shirt and instead wear a T-shirt with protest messages.
[Adam Taylor]
"Chinese Citizens Stormed Government Offices Near Shanghai And Forced The Mayor To Strip"
''Business Insider'', 28 July 2012. Protests ended after the government promised to permanently suspend the project.
[Lilian Lin]
Qidong Protest Prompts Anti-Japan Sentiment
''Wall Street Journal'', 30 July 2012.
Background
The coastal city of Qidong is located at the mouth of the
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
, approximately one hour north of Shanghai.
[Shiv Malik]
"Chinese protesters force officials to cancel industrial waste pipeline project"
''The Guardian'', 28 July 2012. The city's economy is centered largely on the fishing industry, and is a major source of lobster and shrimp exports.
[Jane Perlez]
''The New York Times'', 28 July 2012. In 2007, the Oji Paper Company began construction of a paper mill in the city of
Nantong
Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. ...
, Jiangsu, located approximately 100 km inland from the coast.
["Chinese protest Oji Paper waste plan"]
''Kyodo / AFP'', 29 July 2012. A wastewater pipeline was designed to carry approximately 150,000 tons of waste water per day from Nantong to the coast off Qidong. Although representatives of the paper company gave assurances that the water would be purified to meet environmental standards,
[ Qidong residents feared the discharge would pollute water supplies, adversely affecting the fishing industry and drinking water. Some residents further claimed that they were not properly consulted about the project.][
]
Protest
On 28 July, roughly 10,000 Qidong residents took to the streets to demand the suspension of the pipeline project.[ An estimated 1,000 protesters stormed government buildings, where they were reportedly seen "smashing computers, overturning desks and throwing documents out of the windows to loud cheers from the crowd," according to ''The Guardian.'' Information circulated on the popular microblogging site ]Sina Weibo
Sina Weibo (新浪微博) is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily acti ...
said that the protesters discovered condoms and expensive liquor in government offices.[ The city's mayor, Sun Jianhua, was stripped of his shirt and then made to wear an opposition T-shirt.][ At least five cars were overturned, and protesters clashed violently with police. A reporter with ]Asahi Shimbun
is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...
was reportedly beaten by security forces while taking photographs of protesters "under attack by police.""Asahi Shimbun correspondent beaten by Chinese police"
, ''Asahi Shimbun'', 29 July 2012.
Analysis
The protest Qidong was part of a series of large-scale environmental protests related to industrial projects in China. Less than one month earlier, a large, student-led protest in Shifang stopped construction on a massive copper smelting plant. Earlier, protesters in Dalian
Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...
similarly succeeded in getting a chemical factory shut down due to environmental concerns.[ ]Willy Wo-Lap Lam
Willy Wo-Lap Lam (born 1952; ) is a Hong Kong journalist, political scientist, and commentator on Chinese politics. He is currently a Jamestown Foundation fellow and an adjunct professor at the Centre for China Studies, Chinese University of Hong ...
suggests that the protest in Qidong was representative of a growing rights consciousness among Chinese citizens, as well as a greater willingness to assert those rights. Lam noted that while authorities crack down "mercilessly" on protests perceived as being anti-Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
or anti-government, they are "willing to strike a deal" when the protests related to environmental or economic concerns, as in the case of Qidong.[
The Qidong Protest had the effect of inflaming anti-Japanese sentiment in China. The Wall Street Journal reported on nationalist comments posted on China's Weibo blogging site: "How can a Japanese paper factory come and damage Chinese people's health and our environment? How can we with our 1.3-billion population be afraid of that little Japan?," wrote one user from Guangdong province. Other called for a boycott of Japanese products.][
]
See also
* Shifang protest
References
{{Portal bar, China, Society, Environment
Protests in China
2012 in China
Environmental protests in China
Environmental issues in China
History of Jiangsu
Nantong
2012 protests
2012 in the environment