Hundreds protest against China chemical plant

Beijing, June 1: Hundreds of protesters wearing gas masks and holding banners marched through a city in southeast China today, demanding the government scrap, not just put off, plans to build a chemical plant, a witness said.

Xiamen, a port city of about 1.5 million people centred on an island in the eastern province of Fujian, announced on Wednesday it was suspending construction of a plant to make paraxylene (PX), a petrochemical that goes into polyester and fabrics.

Angry locals had denounced the project as an ''atomic bomb'' threatening the seaside environment, and they claimed to have circulated nearly a million mobile phone text messages urging families and friends in protest against the plant.

''On my way to work today, I saw a lot of people marching on the main streets, holding banners and some wearing gas masks,'' a computer engineer surnamed Huang told sources.

''One of the banners said 'don't suspend, cancel the plant','' he said.

''If the project goes ahead, it will damage the environment and a lot of people's health as it is close to the city centre.'' Huang said he and some friends and neighbours had all received text messages organising citizens to join the protest.

China's leaders have promised to clean up skies and water degraded by decades of unchecked growth, and environmental agencies are increasingly vocal about officials who push industrial projects without assessing the impact.

But many local governments remain eager to boost employment and revenues even if the environment suffers.

REUTERS>