30 said injured in protests over Shanghai battery plant
Staff Reporter
2014-11-03
Police subdue a man protesting against the planned battery plant in Pudong on Oct. 31. (Internet photo)
Around 30 demonstrators have been injured and another 20 arrested in Shanghai during protests against the construction of a new battery plant in the city's Pudong district, reports Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao.
Locals from Pudong's Nicheng township reportedly began congregating in the town center from the morning of Oct. 31 to protest government plans to allow Shanshan Technology to build a lithium-ion battery plant in the area.
Up to as many as 4,000 people reportedly took part in the demonstrations at one point, with protesters holding signs like "We love Shanghai, oppose pollution!" and "Battery plant get out of Nicheng." Many participants said they did not even know there were plans to build a factory in Nicheng until recently as there had been no notices put up.
Demonstration organizers said they were banding together to protest against the heavy pollution that would result from the battery plant for the sake of their homes and the future of their children.
The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights & Democracy said there were two major clashes with police during the protests, which lasted until the afternoon of Nov. 1, when authorities told protesters that the battery plant project had been abandoned. The website cited witnesses as saying that police squads of as many as 200 officers used heavy-handed tactics to suppress the demonstration, beating and dragging people away to disperse the crowds. At least 30 people were reportedly injured and another 20 arrested by public security officials.
This is the third battery plant project to be scrapped in Shanghai over the last two years. Last year, projects in Shanghai's Songjiang and Huinan districts were suspended following similar demonstrations.
