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E-mail China Daily, November 13, 2012
Shan Guangnai, a researcher on "mass incidents" from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said interaction with the public is crucial for local authorities to avoid protests.
Shan has conducted studies on the standoffs between residents and authorities in Shifang, Sichuan province, and Qidong, Jiangsu province.
"More often than not, only one or two local officials decided the program would be launched and the public did not know anything about how their areas would be affected. In cases like this, a rumor or two will be enough for people to take to the streets in protest," he said.
Zhang Shiyou, a farmer in a small town beside the Yangtze River in East China’s Anhui province, said: "We want the right to participate in decision-making. But it is not that easy.’’
In 2011, Zhang led his fellow villagers onto the streets to protest against the Anhui Zhongyuan Chemical Industrial Co plant near their village, which they said caused the deaths of fish, destruction of crops and led to unsafe drinking water. The plant was producing formaldehyde, Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.
Eventually, the local government ordered the plant to be removed and earmarked money to clean up the environment.
"Nevertheless, we are still worried about the hidden dangers — we do not know how many other projects threatening the environment are still operating near us or are going to come to us," he told Xinhua.
"We are eager for the right to be informed."
Liu Zhibiao, president of the Jiangsu Academy of Social Sciences, said the government should encourage community representatives, NGOs and legal and environment assessment service providers to have a say in the decision process for launching projects for the sake of environmental protection.
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