PX protests expose govt struggle between development, stability

Protests staged since Sunday against a planned paraxylene (PX) plant in Maoming City of south China's Guangdong province seemed to die down on Wednesday. But the quandary for a local government seeking a balance between development and stability never ends.

More than 1,000 locals have protested in front of Maoming's government building, in scenes that reflect growing public opposition across China to projects deemed dangerous or polluting. The Maoming protestors have smashed office windows and billboards in a display of their anger over the mooted local production of PX, a commonly used petrochemical.

Though the government pledged on Monday to consult the public before progressing the PX facility, protests continued into a third day. They even spread to Guangzhou on Tuesday, when hundreds rallied near the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, close to the Guangdong provincial government office.

Liang Luoyue, deputy head of the Maoming municipal government, met with representatives of the protesters on Tuesday afternoon and reaffirmed the promise of public consultation.

Liang said the government will strengthen communication with residents and expand channels for them to express their demands through meeting with government officials, media and the Internet.

Meanwhile, the Maoming government's desire to promote the PX project is strong, as shown in the 100,000 brochures sent to local homes.

"The PX project will add about 10,000 jobs and increase tax revenues by 674 million yuan (109.6 million US dollars) every year," the brochures read.

They classify PX as a combustible chemical with low toxicity and say there is not enough evidence to link it with cancer.

The government has also run a publicity campaign since late February in local newspapers, trying to disperse fears on the project's safety risks.

However, rather than calming readers, the propaganda appears only to have inspired the protests.

"As common people, we only care about our living environment," said a local resident surnamed Zhang. "If the environment is ruined, what good are tax revenues?"

Growing public upset over pollution, and a lack of communication between local authorities and citizens has meant that antipathy to PX projects is becoming more common.

For many in Maoming, a series of deadly oil pipeline blasts in a petrochemical base in east China's Shandong Province in November rammed home the potential danger of having a similar facility on their doorstep. The explosions in Shandong's Qingdao City left 55 people dead and nine missing.

Maoming, which has a population of seven million, already boasts the largest petrochemical base in south China.

Since 2007, planned PX projects in Xiamen, Dalian, Ningbo and Kunming have been canceled after residents protested. It is not yet clear if the Maoming government will follow suit.