Chinese officials bow to protests, halt petrochemical factory project

29-Oct-12

The Ningbo city government has released a statement that the project's investor had “resolutely” agreed not to go ahead with an expansion plan, as per Chinapost. Thousands of protesters who marched through an eastern Chinese city on Sunday against the expansion of a petrochemical factory won a pledge from the local government that the project would be halted.It was unclear whether local authorities will ultimately cancel the project or continue it when the pressure is lower. The demonstration in wealthy Zhejiang province is the latest this year over fears of health risks from industrial projects. The protests began a few days earlier in the coastal district of Zhenhai, where the petrochemical factory is located, and later spread to the center of Ningbo city, whose officials oversee Zhenhai.