Chinese chemical plant protestors ‘demonstrate in ignorance’, says scientist
Criticism of industrial projects such as PX plants suggests citizens often unaware of genuine scale of risk, according to expert
Protestors fighting plans to build chemical plants in China often act through lack of scientific knowledge and their actions can damage the country’s development, according to one of the nation’s leading climate change scientists.
Qin Dahe, the vice president of the China Association for Science and Technology, said the protests against paraxylene plants, or PX, were borne of the belief that the factories were highly dangerous, the Beijing Times reported.
“[The protests] caused the embarrassing situation that [the projects] stop as soon as the public make a noise, which has brought huge damage to the country,” Qin told a forum at the national political advisory body, which is now holding its annual meeting in Beijing
“The construction of nuclear power plants and waste incineration plants face the same fate.”
Qin said the protests, as well as the panic buying of salt after the Japanese tsunami sparked radiation fears in 2011, showed the public’s lack of scientific knowledge.
“The real issue these phenomena reflect is that the scientific literacy of our citizens still needs to be improved,” he said.