Protest in China

Violent protest sparks over coal plant; 10,000 civilians take part

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21 October, 2012

Half a year after Yinggehai, a town of roughly 18,000 located in the Li ethnic autonomous county in Ledong, Hainan province, launched an anti-government rally on April 11 against a construction plan for a power plant to be built by China Guodian, a state-run power producer, the town has had another outbreak of a large-scale demonstration over the protection of rights.

About 6,000 villagers and 3,000 local police have been in confrontation for multiple days. The police used tear gas against the villagers, wounding and detaining many. Riot police guard all the roads, the atmosphere is tense, moreover, and the word "Yinggehai" has been blocked by China's internet censorship programs.

Some villagers fear that the chaotic situation could break out into a large-scale conflict, potentially causing casualties, according to Hong Kong-based Ming Pao.

The State Power Hainan Southwest Power Plant Project, in cooperation with the Ledong local government and China National Power Group, decided to built a coal fuel power plant in March in Yinggehai. Residents raised protests against the environmental and health problems that would ensue, and on April 11 staged a rally 10,000 strong. The government decided to change the location, but the two new sites chosen were both rejected by residents in those places.

Six months after, the project turned back to Yinggehai.

A number of residents said to reporters that most of the men in the village were out fishing, so after learning the upcoming ribbon-cutting and plate hanging ceremony would be held on Oct. 16, hundreds of women gathered in front of the town government. Others even surrounded the entrance of the Fishery Bureau day and night to prevent the authority from taking out the plate and finishing the ribbon-cutting ceremony. On the evening of Oct. 16, the police began to guard the entrance of the government complex, prompting a clash that ensued for two days.

The conflict escalated on the evening of Oct. 18. The villagers claimed that a dozen official vehicles arrived at the building, with thousands of armed police stationed and deployed along the Fishery Bureau. Police guarded all the entrances into the town, and except for small vehicles, all incoming and outgoing traffic was blocked.

Police broke through the civilian blockade and reclaimed the plate from the Fishery Bureau on the same night. A woman was injured during the conflict and two people were taken away. One of them had also been taken away by the authority in the conflict in April.

The villagers then gathered together to demand the release of villagers being arrested. During the confrontation, the two parties clashed, escalating to the point where police had to use tear gas on the crowd. Many people were injured in the fighting that lasted two days. Villagers even tried to prevent the police from cleaning the road the next day to clear out the evidence of the conflict, but were unsuccessful