Police disperse crowd en route to environmental protest in northeastern China
Protesters worried about pollution from a planned factory in Heilongjiang province find their route to a demonstration blocked by police
Police in riot gear, including some with dogs, were deployed to disperse protesters in a city near China’s border with Russia after plans for an aluminium plant sparked widespread environmental concerns.
Dozens of residents in Daqing, Heilongjiang province were arrested on Thursday on their way to city hall, according to residents.
The protesters were upset about plans by conglomerate China Zhongwang to build an aluminium processing plant. The local government said on Wednesday that the project had been suspended, but some city residents were unconvinced by that claim.
Hundreds of protesters tried to rally at city hall but found all the routes blocked by police.
Footage of police taking away protesters, including several elderly ones, was widely circulated on social media. In one clip, a woman appeared to have fainted while police were implementing crowd control.
The content of the video could not be verified, and the local police department declined to comment on the matter.