Refinery Plan Iced but Suspicions Remain

Mr. Lao Zhou, a farmer, splutters with rage when asked if he believes government promises to scrap plans for a copper refinery near his home in south-west China, a project which has sparked violent protests.

"They're liars!" he exclaims. "Nobody believes they won't build it eventually."

His comment illustrates the fury that erupted in Sichuan province's Shifang town last week when thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the US$1.6 billion (S$2 billion) refinery that they feared would poison their families. The city government swiftly called off the project.

While China faces tens of thousands of "mass incidents" every year over pollution, as well as issues like corruption, the Shifang uprising captured national attention and was widely discussed on popular microblogs with little apparent censorship.

"This issue has really struck a chord with people," said one China-based Western diplomat.

"It's a perception problem more than anything, a lack of trust in the government. There's not enough information. This was a project, after all, which had been approved by the environmental authorities," he added.

Shifang, a pleasant low-rise city an hour by car from the teeming provincial capital Chengdu, is a tourist attraction. The city is also building an industrial zone, with help from Beijing.

Many of the residents in Shifang said it was the government's unwillingness to explain the plans that sparked anger.

"We don't oppose the government, but they must explain the risks involved in a project like this, and they didn't. Their publicity efforts were not good enough," said resident Zeng Susen, who runs a small guest house and restaurant.

The government keeps talking about resolving livelihood problems, but they have to start doing so at the grassroots," Zeng added

Shanghai-listed Sichuan Hongda, one of China's biggest zinc and lead producers, issued a statement after the protests, maintaining that it was a government-approved project with the highest environmental standards.

"The project would have an important boosting effect for fiscal revenue, promoting employment and improving people's livelihood," it said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

But according to the International Finance Corp, an arm of the World Bank, copper smelting and refining can produce mercury, sulphur dioxide, arsenic and other pollutants.

If the new plant were to be built, such pollutants could be dispersed into the air or flow into the river, poisoning drinking supplies and arable land, residents said. Reuters

(Todayonline, Edited by Topco)