49 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
49 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
The **Shifang Anti-Factory Campaign of 2012** was a grassroots
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[environmentalist movement](Timeline_of_Environmentalism "wikilink") led
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by high school [students](Student "wikilink") in
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[2012](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Eastern_Asia "wikilink") in
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the city of Shifang, Sichuan, [China](China "wikilink").
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## Background
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On the 29th of June, 2012, the government of the city of Shifang
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announced the construction of a molybdenum-copper alloy factory. High
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school students in the area who were concerned about the factory’s
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environmental impacts sent the government a petition calling for it to
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cancel the construction. Reports estimated that the factory would
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pollute a radius of 60 km, encompassing Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan
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Province. The students also distributed pamphlets and posters over the
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entire city to raise awareness and rally the residents to take action
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against the refinery’s construction. High schools threatened to expel
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the student activists if they continued their protests.
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## Events
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Later that day, thousands gathered in the Shifang public square and in
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front of government buildings in protest. On the 2nd of July hundreds of
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protestors began a sit-in at the gate of the Shifang Municipal
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Government Compound and signed names on a banner. The government sent in
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riot police who used tear gas, stun grenades, batons and live ammunition
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at the protesters. Many protestors and witnesses posted personal
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accounts, videos, and pictures on Weibo, a Chinese social networking
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site. One user said that the government had bribed people living near
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the plant with 20,000 yuan (equivalent to US $2,800 in 2012) in hush
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money. Another Weibo user posted about a restaurant owner who had
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refused to serve a police officer in protest against the police
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violence. On the 3rd of July police attacked protesters with tear gas
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and grenades and arrested 28 people, a number of them students.
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## Results
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By the end of the night, the government had given in to the protesters’
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demands and announced that they would terminate the project. The police
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released 22 detainees later that night. However, they formally arrested
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three people on criminal charges and another three on administrative
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charges.
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## References
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[Global Nonviolent Action
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Database](Global_Nonviolent_Action_Database "wikilink") - [Shifang
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students prevent copper plant construction,
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China, 2012](https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/shifang-students-prevent-copper-plant-construction-china-2012) |