Chinese man stages three-day protest up electricity pylon
Man was a construction firm contractor contesting a court ruling over unpaid debts, according to media report
A man has staged a protest by climbing up an electricity pylon in northern China and refusing calls to come down for nearly three days.
Power supplies were disrupted for three hours over a wide area during the protest in Xian in Shaanxi province, according to a police statement.
The man, who was not named, was protesting against a court ruling, according to the statement.
An unnamed resident living in the area told the news website Sohu.com that the man was a construction firm contractor fighting to get the 1.9 million yuan (US$300,000) he was owed by a company and he was unable to pay wage arrears to his workers.
The man started the protest on Monday and finally came down at 1am on Thursday, a police official told the South China Morning Post.
The officer did not say if the man came down voluntarily or was forced to give up his protest.
“He has come down and he was not injured. He has had a medical check-up at the hospital,” duty police officer Zeng Lijian said on Thursday.
An unnamed eyewitness told Sohu.com that the man had climbed the pylon in a yellow and blue quilt to keep out the cold.
“The pylon is about 20 to 30 metres high. Police tried to set up an aerial ladder and drag him down, but they didn’t succeed,” the witness was quoted as saying.
Police set up a large inflatable mattress and netting earlier during the protest in case the man jumped or fell, a police statement said.
