中國地方政府針對PX抗議展開危機公關
王霜舟 2014年04月02日
中國廣東省一個城市的政府官員周三與當地知名網友見面，該市居民近日來一直在抗議有關建設一座石油化工廠的計劃。這次會面部分是為了減輕居民對化工廠的擔憂，一天前，茂名市副市長曾與一些抗議者見面。
茂名市政府已經發佈了進一步和解的聲明，聲明稱，如果反對聲音普遍存在的話，將不會修建這家生產芳烴(PX)的化工廠，芳烴是塑料的一種原料。周日，一個反對修建化工廠的遊行活動以和平的方式開始，後來由於少數抗議者向警察投擲石塊，而轉向暴力。警方採取行動清理了抗議者，造成至少有20人受傷，一位當地政府發言人說。
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Reuters周二，中國茂名化工廠的抗議活動，兩名居民騎摩托車路過一個燃燒的治安亭。
小規模的抗議在隨後的幾天中繼續發生，有時抗議者還與警方發生了衝突。人權觀察(Human Rights Watch)呼籲中國政府調查執法部門的反應，該組織援引網上照片中顯示的一些身上有血的抗議者，指出他們看來遭到了手持警棍的警察的腳踢或棍打。
人權觀察中國部主任索菲·理查森(Sophie Richardson)在一份書面聲明中說，「人們的描述和照片顯示，警察可能對茂名的示威者使用了過多的武力。當局應該迅速調查這些說法，追究有關人員的責任。」
周二在廣東省省會廣州也發生反對在茂名修建化工廠的抗議活動。約有200多人遊行來到中山紀念堂。其中的數十人向信訪辦公室提交了有關警方處理茂名抗議的投訴材料，據一位參加者說。這位參加者只說他姓許，他在電話里說，「我有點擔心，當官的會官官相護。」
共產黨的黨報《人民日報》周三在一篇社論中呼籲人們要更冷靜地看待這種化工廠，社論指出，中國需要增加芳烴產量，並稱「PX並非危險化學品」。
芳烴是製造塑料和聚酯纖維的原料。據美國國家職業安全衛生研究所(U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)的資料，接觸芳烴可能導致皮膚髮紅，誤服則會引起腹痛。
該化合物及其生產一直處於中國環保抗議活動的最前沿。2007年，廈門抗議者反對在這座沿海城市修建一座PX化工廠的計劃，並成功地迫使這家工廠搬到內地修建。他們的運動動啟發了大連、寧波和昆明等城市居民抗議化工廠的行動。
據《中國日報》報道，對在茂名修建化工廠的擔心已經持續了將近5年，這家化工廠是當地政府與中國石油化工有限公司下屬的一家當地分公司的一個合作項目。
2009年一名茂名居民曾告訴這家國有媒體說，「我們應該學習廈門居民的做法，聯手反對這種可能帶來高污染的化工廠。」
最近幾個月來，一些中國媒體一直在呼籲抗議者不要害怕芳烴工廠的擴大，他們說，這種化合物帶來的風險沒有中國許多城市居民所擔心的那麼嚴重。
去年《人民日報》曾發表一篇文章稱，中國的PX產量增長不足導致中國越來越依賴於從日本、韓國、新家 sic和沙特阿拉伯進口原料。這篇文章還說，這種材料的生產是安全的，沒有出現重大事故的報道。
該報稱，「從1985年上海建設第一個PX裝置起，國內已有十幾套裝置，目前設備均正常運行，沒有出現安全生產重大事故。」
就在《人民日報》發表上述文章的當天上午，福建省漳州市一家PX化工廠發生爆炸，使附近居民受到驚嚇，但沒有人受傷。這家化工廠就是2007年廈門發生抗議之後遷址建設的那家。
南都網在漳州爆炸事故發生後曾發表一篇社論，社論稱，由於居民缺乏專業知識，再加上當地政府推動這類項目的興趣很大，往往不考慮對安全的擔心，這些都是引起廣泛質疑的原因。該文呼籲對未來項目的審批要有更多的透明性。
文章指出，「對PX項目的恐慌和對政府的不信任，在每一次反對行動中都被無限地傳播和放大了。」
王霜舟(Austin Ramzy)是《紐約時報》記者。Zheng Huang對本文有研究貢獻。翻譯：張亮亮
After Protests, City Tries to Ease Fear of Chemical Plant
April 02, 2014
Government officials met
Wednesday with popular local bloggers in a town in China’s southeastern
Guangdong Province that has been hit by days of protest over plans to
build a petrochemical plant. The meeting, part of an effort to reduce
residents’ concerns about the plant, comes a day after the vice mayor of
Maoming city met with some protesters.
The Maoming government has
issued increasingly conciliatory statements, saying the plant, which
will produce paraxylene, a chemical used in plastics, will not be
constructed if opposition remains widespread. On Sunday a demonstration against the plant,
which began peacefully, turned violent when a small number of
protesters began throwing rocks at the police. The police moved in to
clear out the protesters, and at least 20 people were injured, a local
government spokesman said.
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ReutersResidents ride past a burning public security kiosk Tuesday during a protest against a chemical plant project in Maoming, China.
Smaller protests have
continued in the days since, with demonstrators at times clashing with
the police. Human Rights Watch has called on the Chinese government to
investigate the law enforcement response, citing online images that
showed bloodied demonstrators who had apparently been kicked or struck
by riot police wielding batons.
“Accounts and photographs
suggest that police may have used disproportionate force against
demonstrators in Maoming,” Sophie Richardson, the China director at
Human Rights Watch, said in a written statement. “Authorities should
move swiftly to investigate these claims, and hold those responsible to
account.”
Demonstrations against the
Maoming plant were also held in the provincial capital of Guangzhou on
Tuesday. More than 200 people marched on the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. A
few dozen then went to a petition office, where they submitted
complaints about the police response to the Maoming protests, according
to one participant who would only provide his surname, Xu. “I’m a little
bit worried that the officials will just protect each other,” Mr. Xu
said by phone.
The Communist Party-run People’s Daily ran an editorial
Wednesday urging residents to take a calmer attitude toward the
factory, saying that China needs to increase its paraxylene production,
and that the chemical “really isn’t dangerous.”
Paraxylene is a precursor
for the manufacture of plastics and polyester. It can cause skin redness
on contact and abdominal pain if ingested, according to the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
The chemical and its
production have been at the forefront of environmental protests in
China. In 2007 demonstrators in Xiamen protested plans to build a PX
plant in their coastal city and succeeded in having it moved inland.
Their movement was cited as an inspiration for protests against chemical
plants by residents in Dalian, Ningbo and Kunming.
Concern about the Maoming
plant, which is a project of the local government and a local branch of
the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec Limited, has
been continuing for nearly five years, according to a report in the China Daily.
“We should learn from
citizens in Xiamen to join hands to oppose such a chemical project that
has a high potential of pollution,” a Maoming resident told the
state-run newspaper in 2009.
In recent months some
Chinese media outlets have urged protesters to not fear the expansion of
paraxylene plants, saying the risks posed by the chemical don’t match
the fears expressed in many Chinese cities.
Last year People’s Daily
ran an article that said the lack of growth in China’s PX production was
forcing the country to rely on growing imports from Japan, South Korea,
Singapore and Saudi Arabia. It said production of the material was
safe, with no major accidents reported.
“Since the first PX plant was built in Shanghai in 1985, domestically at least 10 have been added,” the paper said. “At present they are all operating normally, with no major accidents.”
On the same morning the People’s Daily article was published, an explosion
ripped through a PX plant in Zhangzhou, in Fujian Province, terrifying
people who lived nearby but causing no injuries. The plant was the same
facility that had been relocated from Xiamen after the 2007 protests.
In an editorial written
after the Zhangzhou explosion, the Southern Metropolitan Daily said that
residents’ lack of expertise, combined with the interest of local
governments in pushing through projects despite safety concerns,
contributed to widespread suspicion. It called for more transparency
over future projects.
“Every time there is a protest, the panic over PX projects and mistrust in government expands,” it said.
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