Word is coming out of China of the closing of a major plant in Xiamen. Zhong Xiaoyong, a freelance writer in Xiamen who opposed the plant described the smart mob action as caused by: ‘a potent cocktail of public worry about pollution, modern communications, and increasingly assertive citizens.’ He was quoted in a Reuters report which includes this as one version of millions of text messages that have built pressure to close the plant: “When this massive toxic chemical product goes into production, that will mean an atomic bomb has been released over all Xiamen island,” . . .

The 24.com news story about the closing begins:

Beijing - Work on a billion-dollar petrochemical plant in a major Chinese port has been put on hold following a text message campaign by protestors angry about industrial pollution, state media said on Wednesday.

Citizens sent nearly one million cellphone text messages urging the Xiamen government to abort work on a massive paraxylene (PX) plant because of the feared health and environmental impacts, Xinhua news agency said.

“The Xiamen city government has decided to suspend construction of the PX plant,” the agency quoted Xiamen vice mayor Ding Guoyan as saying.

According to other reports, citizens were planning a protest rally on Friday to oppose construction of the plant, which Xinhua described as “highly polluting”.

PX is a petrochemical used to produce polyesters, but it is also a potential carcinogen if humans come into contact with it.

Protestors had described the plant, which was already under construction, as a potential “atomic bomb”, according to Xinhua.

Xinhua said 105 top advisors to China’s National People’s Congress, or parliament, also had voiced opposition to the project during a parliamentary session in Beijing in March.

Word is coming out of China of the closing of a major plant in Xiamen. Zhong Xiaoyong, a freelance writer in Xiamen who opposed the plant described the smart mob action as caused by: ‘a potent cocktail of public worry about pollution, modern communications, and increasingly assertive citizens.’ He was quoted in a Reuters [...]