Protest - Greetings from Huashui (part II)

After the riot

The Dutch reporter Hans Moleman visited the rebellious Zhejiang village Huashui two weeks after villagers chased away the local government as it tried to break up a blockade against polluting chemical factories. The demonstrators are still going strong, Moleman reported this weekend in this paper, adding must flavor to earlier stories. Parts of his report, roughly translated from Dutch: (part I is here)

Two weeks after the battle the tents are still standing next to the factory and a huge concrete pole blocks the road. Next to the main tent, partly in a ditch, a black van of Max Chemical Company stands still where it landed after it tried to pass the blockade, the window smashed, tires destroyed.
The village reacts enthusiastically when their foreign visitor arrives. People wave and keep on telling their message. “You have to tell the government in Beijing they have to help us,” says some of the women. (snip)
Last year they also demonstrated against the factory, they explain. Then all the men were arrested. So, now old people and women took the lead. “They do not dare to take us on like they did with the men.”
The protestors of Huashui are the simple people of the country side, with their often worn out clothes. But they are no poor farmers. The houses in the villages show a certain wealth: they are solid buildings with often three storey’s. This is Zhejiang, the richest province of China (that is too much, Hans – FT), on a few hours drive from Shanghai. This is an emerging middle class, annoyed with the quality of the local government. Untrustworthy grabbers are they, says one grandma, while a crowd surrounding the visitors cheers. “I will tell you exactly how these things work. The bosses of the Party in Dongyang own a part of the factory. That is why they do not want to stop the pollution! That would cost them money and would stop them from making a profit. They all cover each other, drive is big cars, and meanwhile they poison our village.”
A few women show their lots of land close to the factory with their black, poisoned crop. From one of the chimneys smoke emerges. “You see, the factory is still continuing,” says one of the protestors.
When we walk to the river, two men on scooters come out of a gate of the Max Chemical. They keep a distance. “They belong to the municipality, they keep an eye on us.”
When we near our car, one of the men on scooters writes down our license plate and talks into a mobile. Our driver gets nervous. “We have to get out here. Just call your embassy to be sure. There is only one way back to Dongyang, perhaps the police will stop us there.”
In a hurry, our driver starts driving on the concrete road. The men on scooters follow us, talking into their mobiles. When we leave Huashui, our driver speeds, turns into a side road when the scooters are out of sight. (snip)
“Last year, five disabled children were born in our village,” says one of the old women on the barricade. “It must be the factory, we never had that kind of things before.” But didn’t the government say the Max Chemical Company will close and promised compensation for the victims?
“Do you really think we believe that kind of promises? We only leave the barricade when the factory is really closed and we have the money.”
And: “We have no fear anymore. We have won once; we have chased away the mayor and his forces. They cannot seek revenge. We are old people and will be dead very soon anyway. We are doing this for our children and grandchildren. People first, has our president Hu told us. We just remember him to his word. He should protect us, not the bosses.”

On protests in China