In Pictures: Chinese protest chemical factory expansion
Chinese anti-riot police force protesters to leave the area outside the city government office in Zhejiang province’s Ningbo city, Oct. 28, 2012, during a protest against the proposed expansion of a petrochemical factory. China’s increasingly affluent urban population is becoming more aware of environmental issues.Ng Han Guan/The Associated Press
A police officer confronts residents who gathered outside the government office in Ningbo. Thousands of protesters marched through the eastern Chinese city over three days of protests.Ng Han Guan/The Associated Press
A cleaner walks past the logo for the Sinopec Zhenhai petrochemical factory where an expansion was proposed on the outskirts of Ningbo. After the protests, a local Chinese government relented and agreed that the petrochemical factory would not be expanded.Ng Han Guan/The Associated Press
Anti-riot police gather outside the city government office in Ningbo Oct. 28, 2012. A rising tide of protests is causing uncertainty for some businesses.Ng Han Guan/The Associated Press
A police car lies overturned as protesters occupy a government building during a protest against an industrial waste pipeline under construction in Qidong, Jiangsu province, in this July 28, 2012 file photo. The local government pledged to stop the project.CARLOS BARRIA/Reuters
A resident holds a paper reading ‘Say no to PX (paraxylene), give me back Dalian’ among demonstrators protesting against a petrochemical plant in Dalian, Liaoning province, in this Aug. 14, 2011 file photo. In that case, the government agreed to move the facility, but months later the plant was still running.STRINGER/CHINA/Reuters
A man shouts slogans as protesters march in Ningbo against the plans to expand a petrochemical plant, Oct. 28, 2012.STRINGER/CHINA/Reuters
Protesters display a Chinese flag in front of the government office in Ningbo. A spokesman for the city government said in a statement carried by the official China News Service that no more work would be done on the project pending further ‘scientific debate.’Ng Han Guan/The Associated Press
Protesters hold up a defaced picture of Ningbo city mayor Liu Qi outside the city government office, where several hundred citizens had gathered, shouting for the mayor to come out.Ng Han Guan/The Associated Press
A protestor argues with police officers in Ningbo Oct. 27, 2012.CARLOS BARRIA/Reuters
Riot police march as protesters gather in Ningbo Oct. 27, 2012. Sources close to the project expect China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) will likely proceed with the $8.8-billion (U.S.) expansion once the furor dies down.CARLOS BARRIA/Reuters
A protester stands in front of a banner with an image of a skull and crossbones in Ningbo.STRINGER/CHINA/Reuters