Protests Erupt in Wuhan Over Proposed Power Plant

In the shadow of the ongoing protests in Hong Kong over their government’s proposed extradition bill with Beijing, protests have broken out in Wuhan (武漢).

Wuhan is the capital city of Hebei province, it is also the largest city in the province. It appears that around June 28^th protests have been ongoing. Both in and outside of China it has been immensely difficult to attain information regarding the protest due to the Communist Party’s complete control of internet connections.

Initially descriptions, photos, and videos were widely circulated on Weibo, one of the largest social media platforms in China with over 400 million users. However, in their typical authoritarian fashion, censors quickly took down anything discussing the topic.

Still, some of the information made it outside of China, though not all of it has been verified, including videos of tanks rolling through the streets, which has been reported as fake by journalists such as William Yang.

Latest for @dw_chinese – Following days of protests and clashes between protesters and police, residents in Wuhan told me that they won’t stop taking it to the street until the government truly abandon the entire project. Mere suspension isn’t enough. (Sounds familiar) https://t.co/M4W068kci9

— William Yang (@WilliamYang120) July 5, 2019

The protests began over a proposed waste incineration plant, to be erected where residents believed a park was supposed to be built. These energy creating plants often create incredible amounts of deadly pollution in China, due to the relatively backward technology incorporated. Other nations have created vastly superior ones that eliminate almost all emissions, while those in China spew life threatening chemicals including mercury and dioxins into the air. These particulates could potentially be carried in the air as far as America and certainly countries in between, such as Taiwan. Chinese officials have stated that they have the ability to use new technology to make their plants as efficient as those in other countries, though citizens in China should be skeptical as the CCP is a lie factory.

Citizens of Wuhan have already complained about the smell from the garbage around their city. The government seems to view incineration as its only option as many other nations are refusing to any longer receive trash from the polluter-in-chief.

Different agencies are reporting different flash points for the protests. Some say it was explosions mistaken for construction noises, while others say it was odors emanating from the landfill. I have yet to see any confirmation of what got protesters on the streets, aside from the plant in and of itself. One thing is clear though, the CCP was not expecting the reaction it got. The protesters, however, got the reaction they wanted from their government.

According to CNN the plant’s construction has been suspended. While this could change at anytime and police presence there is still on high alert, it is a positive step for local residents, and perhaps the greater population of China. This could create more instances of protest in China, as we have seen recently across Asia, in Hong Kong (it should be noted that Wuhan protester have attempted to distance themselves from Hong Kong and said they were not inspired by the actions there) and Taiwan specifically.

If one thinks that the Chinese Communist Party will give up a scintilla of its power and control they have over China they should have their heads examined. That being said, increased instances of protests could draw more international attention to the people of China and the murderous regime holding them by the throat.