2011-08-14

Protest win in Dalian

Protests force Chinese factory to close

Sunday’s mass action was one of the largest urban protests of recent years and the latest in a growing number of demonstrations against environmental disasters and degradation caused by China’s rapid industrialisation and economic development.

It also presented the latest challenge to a stability-obsessed government that refuses to countenance meaningful political reforms but must govern a population that is increasingly wealthy, connected via the internet, critical of poor governance and distrustful of its leaders.

On Sunday, many of the demonstrators sang the national anthem and carried banners emphasising their patriotism in an apparent attempt to avoid the harsh response often meted out to dissidents.

Dalian’s senior officials, Tang Jun, the Communist party secretary, and Li Wancai, the mayor, “tried to appease the crowd by promising to move the plant out of the city”, reported the state-run Xinhua news agency.

But protesters told Xinhua they wanted a clear timetable for the removal of the plant. Some said they would refuse to leave the square until a timetable was given.
The nature of the protest is social mood. There's always a problem in a country and one can find a reason to protest anything, but why are the protests more intense?

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