Inside China Today

Inside China Today – Sunday 1st November

Local officials carry out demolition on property near Chengdu City.

- Plants worth ten million destroyed by officials

- Chemical corporation severely harming locals in Chongqing

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Plants worth ten million destroyed by officials

(0:23)

The owner of a co-operative nursery in Sichuan, Mr Huang Mingzhong, invested over ten million yuan to establish a greenery near Chengdu City.

In April 2001, Mr Huang contracted over 2 acres of land outside Double Happiness village for a term of 27 years. Less than a week after the agreement however, the Demolition and Relocation Office not only destroyed some of their property, but also cut off their electricity supply. The heat caused most of the precious orchids to die. On January 20, 2008, the Demolition and Relocation Office came with an excavator and pushed down all of Mr. Huang’s greenhouses. Several hundred orchids were destroyed.

Huang said;

“the local government is no different from bandits, looting and destroying, they dare to do anything. All of it was flattened to the ground. More than 2 acres were destroyed. We don’t even have a place to live in now.”

After Mr Zhong’s company and property were destroyed, his family went everywhere seeking justice, however no government departments would help. The Courts also would not even register their case.

Huang said:

“They even beat my son and my daughter-in-law. Our house furniture and appliances were smashed to pieces. We went to different authorities to seek justice, but the thugs had already been to see them, so they didn’t want to listen to us. We went to the Public Security Bureau and they said they would investigate into it. The court said they wouldn’t register our case because it had to do with forced relocation due to development, which they dont deal with.

On December 22nd, 2007, thugs hired by the local Demolition and Relocation Office tried to force Mr Zhong to sign an agreement to relocate.

Hu said,

“There were many people – twenty to thirty. They tied up our watchman and broke off the lock on our door. They beat us with wooden sticks and steel pipes. We were all hospitalized from the sustained injuries. We reported it to the police but they said they were unable to take care of the case. They said it was a government matter. When we were in the hospital the thugs even called us up telling us to sign over our land. If we didn’t, they said, the government wouldn’t pay heed to us and in fact the CCP had already lost faith in us.”

A SOH reporter called the County Complaints Office to ask why they refused to handle Mr Huang’s case. When he found out we were media, the official hung up the phone.

Donna Ware; Wen Fang; and Xin Yi of the SOH Radio Network.

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Chemical corporation severely harming locals

(3:25)

The Smelting process of Strontium Carbonate at the Red Butterfly Chemical Corporation in Dazu County of Chongqing has heavily polluted the local environment, and seriously harmed local residents. However, the local authorities always try there best to protect the chemical corporation, showing no concern for people’s lives. Local residents used SOH to expose the immoral conduct of the local government.

Residents at Longshui Township of Dazu County told reporters that the Red Butterfly Strontium Chemical Corporation started production in 1994. The gas, liquid and solid waste from the smelting process is rich in sulphur-containing compounds, which seriously pollutes the local air and water. Agricultural crops have been poisoned, and nearby villagers often suffer all kinds of rare diseases. They have spent many years appealing to the local government, resulting in not the slightest effort to resolve the problem.

Mr. Chen, a resident of Longshui Town said [recording]: “We seldom use the roads in the vicinity of that chemical corporation. The liquid waste from the factory has a very bad smell. There is nothing we can do. It really stinks, stinks badly! It pollutes the local water. The liquid waste has polluted all the crops nearby. The peasants downstream are outraged.”

When asked whether the local crops are suitable for human consumption, Mr. Chen said [recording]: “The peasants had stopped selling their crops for some time, but now, a few months on, these crops are being sold again. We do not know whether currently the crops are up to the health standard or not. We are just civilians (who do not have control of anything.)”

Mr. Chen also revealed that many people had repeatedly reported to the local government and environmental protection institutions. Some of the villagers have become ill from of the pollution, but no one ever came to inspect the pollution.

Mr. Chen said: “We have reported it – to the government, and to environmental protection organizations. We reported the pollution to all these organizations in our area. Some of the villagers nearby became ill. But no one ever came to take care. It is because Dazu County is running out of money. They only care about the economy and have no concern for people’s lives.”

Another resident of Longshui Town said the villagers here do not even dare to open the windows. She said [recording]: “It stinks beyond measure. You would feel like vomiting when that smell gets you. The factory often discharges the waste. We do not even dare to step out of our door (when the waste is being discharged). When the factory discharges the gas waste, we have to close all our windows.”

According to her, local home sales have also been affected. She said [recording]: “When buyers choose houses, they avoid Longshui Town completely. They say the air in Longshui is bad, so they go to other towns and counties to buy houses. It is because the air quality in Longshui is bad.”

At the end of May this year, the “Green Volunteers Association” in Chongqing called over 20 volunteers into Yongxi Town for an investigation. The investigation revealed that in the Red Star community of 250 people, 19 people suffer from liver or lung cancer. The percentage of cancer patients is as high as 8%. There was even a household of three, all of whom died from cancer.

A lady at Longshui Town said the chemical pollution severely harmed people’s health. She said [recording]: “The pollution is very serious. Local residents really hate it. Many suffer rare and strange diseases. Too many to mention.”

As a matter of fact, several places have been called “cancer villages” for quite some time. Like Yongxi Town, many other townships in Tongliang County have the same problem. Residents have tried to appeal to all levels of the government, but to no avail. Moreover, some of them were beaten up by the local authorities or personnel from the chemical corporation. It was said that the Red Butterfly Chemical Corporation is one of the major revenue producers for the county and it has strong ties with local the government, thus it is under the protection of the government at different levels.

Chris Thomas; Tian Lin; and Yang of the SOH Radio Network.