Chinese protesters confront police over incinerator plans in Guangzhou

Alocal holds a banner reading "oppose garbage incineration, protectgreen Guangzhou" outside government offices in Guangzhou, Guangdongprovince. Photograph: Reuters

Chinesepolice have dispersed a demonstration by hundreds of Chinese protestersover a planned waste incinerator in the southern city of Guangzhou.

The latest in a series of environment-related protests in China was sparked by rumours that a similar facility in a nearby village is responsible for an increase of cancer cases among locals.

Residentsare unhappy about what they see as inadequate consultation for theproject. A public meeting this morning broke down when officials weredeluged with around 200 petitioners.

The frustrated crowd surgedinto the municipal government office and demanded to be heard. Theythen occupied the city square, where they staged a peaceful sit-in. WenYunchao, a blogger and rights activist at the scene, told the Guardianby telephone that the number of protesters had swelled to about 800 asword spread by mobile phone and internet. The authorities declared thegathering illegal after the participants demanded the resignation ofthe city's deputy general secretary, he said.

The demonstrationwas broken up by police, who used crowd barriers to drive theprotesters off the square. Most of the protesters were home-owners andvillagers from Panyu, the district where the planned incinerator isexpected to handle 2,000 tonnes of waste per day.

Others werefrom Likeng, which is in the process of expanding an incineratordespite concerns among nearby residents that it will lead to anincrease in cancer cases. The government has said such claims aregroundless.

"The government told us there won't be any pollution,but we don't believe them," said a woman who gave only the surname Ou."At least today the government have heard the voice of the people. Theycan't pretend that they are deaf and mute anymore."

Nearly 92% ofresidents believe the project will seriously harm their health and theenvironment, while more than 97% oppose construction of the plant,according a public opinion poll by the Guangdong provincial socialresearch and study centre.

China's southernmost province has beenat the forefront of the country's breakneck economic development andhas experienced some of its worst environmental degradation and socialturbulence. In 2005, police killed three villagers in Shanwei,Guangdong province in a violent protest over a planned power plant. Thesame year, thousands of riot police evicted farmers locked into a landdispute in Sanshan.

Many of the protesters in the latest peacefulprotest were middle-class home-owners, who oppose the construction of apotential environmental hazard in their neighbourhood. The governmentsometimes pays more heed to this group than dispossessed farmers. In2007, a "walk" by thousands of middle-class residents through thestreets of Xiamen in Fujian province prompted the government to rethinkplans for a para-xylene chemical plant in the area.

In the latestcase, however, the Panyu local government has stated its intention topush ahead with the project once an environmental impact assessment iscompleted.