BEIJING (AP) - Residents in a southern Chinese town protested for a second day Sunday against a proposed garbage incinerating plant a day after some demonstrators among thousands clashed with police, residents said Sunday.
Hundreds of people were gathered on a long street in front of the offices of the government in Guangdong province's Boluo county, with anti-riot police standing by, two residents said. They only gave their surnames, Huang and Wang, out of fear of reprisals from authorities.
Participants and witnesses said that thousands of people took to the streets Saturday to voice their fears of the plant's potential impact on health and the environment. Participants and eyewitnesses said the protest was orderly until police snatched banners from the protesters, dispersed crowds by force and dragged away demonstrators and spectators.
Police said in a statement late Saturday that a handful of people were suspected of illegally gathering crowds to disturb social order and traffic. They said they had taken away 24 people suspected of breaking laws for investigation. After "undergoing education," eight had been released, according to the statement posted to the police microblog.
Police called on those who led the activities to surrender within three days or face serious punishment.
The protest is the latest to highlight how Chinese have become increasingly wary of the environmental hazards of industrial projects but still lack public forums to voice their concerns and affect the government's decision-making process.
A massive protest over a proposed waste incinerator in the eastern city of Hangzhou left at least 10 demonstrators and 29 police officers injured in May.