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May 4, 2008-2008

China

Chengdu Stroll

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ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP

Various Local Demonstrators; Displaced Farmers

TARGET

PetroChina; Chinese Government

WIDELY HELD BELIEF

Environment should be protected and environmemtal protection is govt. responsibility.

CASE NARRATIVE

Issue and Opponent: The Chinese government planned the construction of a combined ethylene and oil refinery plant in Pengzhou, 18 miles north of Chengdu. The public demanded that the government complete the legally required environmental impact assessments before the construction would begin, but there were no signs they were being listened to. Dilemma Action: Despite constitutional claims to the contrary, protest is de facto banned in China. So activists had to get creative and planned what was subtly referred to as the Chengdu stroll. On a Sunday afternoon, 400-500 protesters took a casual stroll, just walking and talking with one another. “There were no reports of chanting, marching, or banners, but many protesters wore white face masks, reportedly to show their concern about the pollution threat of the plant.” Outcomes: That afternoon, police reacted with violence, breaking up the demonstration and detaining five protesters for” ‘fabricating and spreading rumors, distortion, incitement to riot and illegal demonstration,” with at least two arrested, including an affiliated online blogger (Chen Daojun) for” ‘inciting subversion of state power.” Eventually, construction of the plant was halted, but the government cited concerns over a natural disaster possibly affecting the plant as a reason. Despite the unclear success of the march affecting the building of the plant, the use of the word “stroll” has been used to organize protests in China since it can avoid censorship. Sources state that term was used in the Dalian and Haining environmental protests of 2011.

PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL

Environment

DA TACTICS USED

"Strolling"

CASE NARRATIVE WRITER

SUCCESS METRICS

4 / 12

(MC) Media Coverage

(MSYMP) Media coverage was sympathetic to the activists

(OR) Opponent response

(PUN) Punishment favored the activists

PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN

0 / 3

RESOURCES

Project documentation

Dilemma Actions Coding Guidebook

Case study documentation

Dilemma_Actions_Analysis_Dataset

CC BY 4.0 Deed, Attribution 4.0 International

SOURCES

Steinhardt, H. Christoph, & Fengshi Wu. 2016. “In the name of the public: Environmental protest and the changing landscape of popular contention in China,” The China Journal. Retrieved July 22, 2023. (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281422830_In_the_Name_of_the_Public_Environmental_Protest_and_the_Changing_Landscape_of_Popular_Contention_in_China).

Blount, Pauline. 2011. “Chinese middle-class and farmers protest petrochemical plant in Chengdu (Chengdu Stroll), 2008,” Global Nonviolent Action Database. Retrieved July 22, 2023. (https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/chinese-middle-class-and-farmers-protest-petrochemical-plant-chengdu-chengdu-stroll-2008).

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