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Forums > Travel Yunnan > Dumping toxic waste near Qujing

There was already an article linked from China Daily by Chris, but this one gives more details: english.caing.com/[...]
The gunge in question is hexavalent chromium, which "is easily absorbed by the body, causing vomiting, abdominal pain, dermatitis and eczema. Short-term and long-term contact or inhalation poses a cancer risk".

"Unemployed farmers Wu and Liu occasionally heard a friend, who drove a loader for Luliang Chemical, say that there was a lot of slag at the factory that needed to be transported out, that the factory paid for the transport, and the slag could then be sold. Wu thought the business could be lucrative, so he took over the business from his friend.
According to Liu's account to public security officials, the two discovered that Luliang Chemical's 100 yuan per ton freight fee was insufficient to cover costs. The two decided simply to dump the slag and pocket the 100 yuan per ton."
Great! A couple of illiterate farmers can just pick up toxic waste and dump it!
The best (scariest) bit is at the end: "We use the Nanpan [river, a major tributary of the Pearl river] to irrigate our crops here. We don't eat them ourselves. We sell them all to people in the city and officials to eat." said a villager named Yuan Chaoqi."

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This has even been picked up by the Economist: www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15826335
The story mentions various recent cases around the country and that the press has been sympathetic:
"The latest flare-up in Kunming has also attracted considerable press attention. One newspaper website described the eruption as symptomatic of public resentment against local officialdom that could blow up like "a bomb at any time". Another newspaper attacked the Kunming authorities for releasing only bare details and not taking questions at a press briefing on the incident. A third suggested the official version of events, that the vendor had simply fallen over, might be a "lie" (a word even used in the headline). It quoted witnesses saying an officer had pushed over her pedicab, pinning the woman under it. A gas canister had then rolled on top of her, knocking her unconscious."

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With regard to the garbage crisis, this is a must-see posting: www.chinahush.com/[...]
Amazing and horrifying pics by a CHINESE photographer!
Lu Guang (卢广) from won the $30,000 W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography for his documentary project "Pollution in China."

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In connection with this, an interesting story from today's FT:

Chinese essay sparks outcry in India

By James Lamont in New Delhi and Kathrin Hille in Beijing

Published: August 12 2009

Indian academics are up in arms over what they regard as provocative incitement of the country's demise by a Chinese essayist.

"China can dismember the so-called 'Indian Union' with one little move!" claimed the essay posted last week on China International Strategy Net, a patriotic website focused on strategic issues. The writer, under the pseudonym Zhanlue (strategy in Chinese), argued that India's sense of national unity was weak and Beijing's best option to remove an emerging rival and security threat would be to support separatist forces, like those in Assam, to bring about a collapse of the Indian federal state.

"There cannot be two suns in the sky," wrote Zhanlue. "China and India cannot really deal with each other harmoniously." The article suggested that India should be divided into 20 to 30 sovereign states.

Such was the outcry about the article that the Indian government issued a statement reassuring the country that relations with China were calm.

"The article in question appears to be an expression of individual opinion and does not accord with the officially stated position of China on India-China relations conveyed to us on several occasions, including at the highest level, most recently by State Councillor Dai Bingguo during his visit to India last week," the foreign ministry in New Delhi said in a statement, referring to mutual pledges to respect territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The publication of the article coincided with talks between Beijing and New Delhi over disputed Himalayan border areas. Earlier this year, China held up funding for an Asian Development Bank project in Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian state claimed by China as "south Tibet". India has also banned some Chinese imports as it tries to protect its economy from the global downturn.

Officials in Beijing and Delhi hew to rival visions of the future, each seeing themselves as pursuing the more durable political and social model of development. The presumption in New Delhi is that China's unified, one-party state is bound to break down.

DS Rajan, director of the Chennai Centre for China Studies, brought the essay to his countrymen's attention. "It has generally been seen that China is speaking in two voices," he said. "Its diplomatic interlocutors have always shown understanding during their dealings with their Indian counterparts, but its selected media is pouring venom on India in their reporting."

China International Strategy Net is run by Kang Lingyi, who took part in hacking into US government websites in 1999 following US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Sites such as his are part of the Communist party's strategy to allow nationalism to grow to strengthen its political legitimacy.

Reviews

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Best Sunday brunch experience in Kunming! A great selection of just the right type of food which goes down very well the morning after a heavy night. Jeroen is making dishes that not only taste great but are also very easy on the eyes. Add to that David's awesome Bloody Marys and the lovely rooftop terrace and you can't go wrong. True, things can be a bit hectic in the kitchen if it's busy, but be patient and you'll be well rewarded.

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Nice quiet conversation place with plushy sofas, big windows and good selection of coffees and milk teas, if a bit pricey. Food is also good.

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One of the nicest places to enjoy a meal in Kunming, both inside and out, that is, if the meal were actually enjoyable. The food is sort of haute Yunnan cuisine with strange combinations and few simple, normal dishes. Quality is OK but not really worth the price. Better just have tea, wine or a beer and eat elsewhere.

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Recently returned here after a lengthy absence and was pleasantly surprised that standards have been maintained. I fully agree with the last review. And the cheapest red wine at RMB 118 is actually very good and a better deal than per glass. You can take it away if you don't finish.