The Tianneng battery factory in Meishan

protest - "Many, Many people" clash in environmental battle

A major conflict between protesters and authorities took place on Saturday at an industrial zone in Meishan, Zhejiang province, according to AP. More sources are not yet available.
Thousands of demonstrators asked the closure of the Tianneng battery factory because people feared environmental damage from the factory. After a clash with the police, people demolished police cars and govenment offices in a reaction. According to a witness:

"Police fired tear gas into the crowd and beat innocent bystanders," the man said in a telephone interview. "I also saw some ambulances go through the area to pick up injured people." He could not give an estimate of how many demonstrators were involved except to say there were "many, many people."

Between 60 and 70 people were treated in hospital for minor injuries and most could return home.

Update I: Here is a report about a similar protest at the same factory last year. Here about the protest in June of this year.
Update II: Tianneng is also on this watchlist for upcoming IPO's. No details have been disclosed yet.
Update III: More information on the pre-IPO movements. In May Tianneng secured a 12 million US dollars investment from Prax Capital and New World Invest, according to this press release, not the smallest players.

The Company, located in Changxing, Zhejiang Province, was founded by the chairman and chief executive officer, Mr. Zhang Tianren. "We will use this round of funding to expand our manufacturing capabilities and develop next generation batteries for electric bicycles. The electric bicycle market in China is growing very fast nationwide. This has prompted us to increase our production facilities in order to cope with demand. In addition, the Company plans to do an IPO on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange within one year, in order to continue to fund our rapid growth." Mr. Zhang said at the time.

Update IV: Reuters comes with few additional details suggesting the factory has been put on fire, although remain unclear about possible damage. An eyewitness:

"People burnt the factory. The office building, workshops, and the factory's products were all set on fire," she said. Four police cars had also been set alight, she said, adding there was heavy security presence in the area and police were rounding up suspects.