Villagers hold angry protest, smash offices and vehicles
JIAXING, Zhejiang - Environmental authorities in Haining, East China's Zhejiang province,announced on Sunday the actions that are being taken to prevent further pollution from a solarpanel producer, following angry protests by villagers.
More than 500 people from the nearby Hongxiao village began gathering outside the ZhejiangJinko Solar Co Ltd (ZJS) factory on Thursday night, demanding an explanation of large-scalefish deaths in a local river last month, according to the Haining people's government.
The company, whose parent is a New York-listed firm, produces mono- and multi-crystallinephotovoltaic panels, cells and wafers, which are sold around the world, according to its officialwebsite.
Protesters overturned eight company vehicles and destroyed the company's offices beforepolice arrived.
Additionally, four police cars were damaged as the officers dispersed the crowd, according tothe government.
The factory's waste disposal system has failed pollution tests since April, according to ChenHongming, the deputy head of Haining's environmental protection bureau.
The bureau had warned the factory before the protest, but the factory did not take effectivemeasures to control the pollution, Chen said.
Before the protest, a 33-year-old resident of Hongxiao village identified only as Sun posted acomment on the Internet saying that the latest health examination of the villagers showed thatamong 3,300 people, six were diagnosed as having leukemia and another 31 had other kindsof cancer.
Local health authorities subsequently said that Sun's post was inaccurate, as the number ofvillagers who were diagnosed with cancer was four in 2010 and two in 2011.
Sun was detained by police for dissemination of false information, which caused considerablerepercussions, according to the local government.
Also, three employees of ZJS were detained on Saturday for interfering with interviews by tworeporters from the Hangzhou-based Qianjiang television station and damaging their videocameras on Thursday.
Police are still investigating the ZJS employees' actions.
The fish kills were related to contamination of the river near the factory, according to the localenvironmental protection authorities.
The Haining people's government will step up its investigation into the pollution and waterquality monitoring near the factory.
Further, production safety inspection authorities ordered the factory to stop production,according to a press release from the Haining people's government regarding a newsconference held on Saturday afternoon.
"Villagers told me that they smelled a strong odor as the factory emits yellowish smoke between1 am and 3 am, and we are going to investigate to see if it is true," said an official with Yuanhuacounty, where Hongxiao village is located.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity on Sunday.
It is not easy to gather evidence and the investigation might not go smoothly, said the official.
The official said the local government has sent teams to meet with villagers, village cadres andenterprise owners to understand their demands.
A villager who would only give his name as Liu said he and his family are worried that theircrops might be polluted and could not be sold.
Liu said he did not join the protest, but he hoped that the demonstrators' voices were heard.
"I know that some protesters also grabbed money and things from the company on the past twonights, and some of them were not even villagers. They were just being selfish and breakingthe law.
"On the other hand, I also want to live without worrying," said Liu.
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