Chapter 24. Environmentalism Section 4. Needs, Value and Aspiration The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism 1

Outline Introduction State of the environment Artificial factors Citizens’ environmental movement (3 cases) – Case 1: Resisting nuclear fuel production, Jiangmen, Guangdong province, 2013 – Case 2: Resisting chemical production (PX), Kunming, Yunnan province, 2013 – Case 3: Resisting metal (alloy) production, Shifang, Sichuan province, 2012 Road ahead 2 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism

Introduction In the 1960s and 1970s, Americans launched a large-scale environmental movement against industrial development and pollution. Today, a similar environmental movement is emerging in China. 3 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism

State of the environment The Chinese citizens are becoming increasingly aware of the threat pollution. – The severity of population: e.g., increasing number of severe environmental incidents 4 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism Fog in Shanghai, 2013 Clean sky, Shanghai

State of the environment The Chinese are going to create real environmental change, they feel they must take things into their own hands. – Companies generated pollution in pursuit of economic profits – Local governments sometimes compromise on environmental issues in pursuit of increased GDP; The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism 5

Artificial factors contributing to environmental concerns Information asymmetry: – local governments often do not release information about potentially controversial projects to the public; – residents are not part of the decision making process; – Residents thus do not take what they say at face value 6 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism

Artificial factors contributing to environmental concerns Rumor: – general lack of trust in official communication channels; – exaggerated claims by people who are against a particular project; – the longer communication channels are blocked, the more destructive rumors become. The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism 7

Citizens’ environmental movement Primarily comprised of “not in my backyard” environmentalists: – only concerned about environmental dangers that threaten them personally; – does not solve the root problem. 8 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism

Citizens’ environmental movement “Take a stroll” to protest: – a protesting tactic of inviting people to take a stroll at certain time and spot and indicate their intention; – organized demonstrations are not tolerated by the government (self- censoring for self-interest); – E.g., In 2012, “strollers” in a city broke into the government building and roughed up the mayor to drive out a Japanese paper company. 9 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism

Citizens’ environmental movement “The squeaky wheel gets the grease” – Governments always strike a quick compromise or even cave in to citizens’ demands. – for maintaining a harmonious society; – to avoid a serious and detailed discussion; – decisions are still not made on rational grounds. The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism 10

Case 1: Resisting nuclear fuel production, Jiangmen, Guangdong province, 2013 On July 4, 2013, the Jiangmen City Government announced a to-be built nuclear fuel processing industrial groups. 11 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism ⁻huge public uproar was quickly generated; ⁻thousands of citizens gathered at the gate of local authorities to appeal the decision, waving signs, banners and chanting slogans. ⁻on July 13, the government canceled the project.

Case 2: Resisting chemical production (PX), Kunming, Yunnan province, 2013 A refinery project in Kunming was approved by the government in January On May 4, 2013, about 3,000 indignant Kunming citizens walked the streets in protest, who were coordinated through social networks As a result, the city government held a news conference and promised “the project will be stopped, if the majority opposed” 12 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism

Case 3: Resisting metal (alloy) production, Shifang, Sichuan province, 2012 Citizens felt the government had kept them in the dark until construction had already begun. As suspicion and fear spread, so did rumors. On July 1, 2012, hundreds of citizens gathered at the gate of the Shifang Municipal Council to protest. On the morning of July 2, some people forced their way into the city government building, which resulted in dozens of injuries. To calm the situation, the government decided to stop the project permanently 13 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism

Road ahead China will continue down the path toward balancing economic development with environmental protection. Environmental efforts will be primarily local in scale and short in duration. We hope it will not take too long for people to realize it is important to develop long term solutions at the national level. 14 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 24. Environmentalism