BEIJING — Bowing to days of passionate street protests, a city government in eastern China said Wednesday it had halted any plans to build a nuclear fuel plant there. The reversal was the latest indication of how public distrust could hold back China’s ambitious plans for expanding its nuclear power industry.
The government of Lianyungang, a city near the coast of Jiangsu province, announced the retreat in a terse message online. “The people’s government of Lianyungang has decided to suspend preliminary work for selecting a site for the nuclear cycle project,’’ it read, referring to a proposed plant for reprocessing used fuel from nuclear plants.
No reason was given, but it appeared clear enough. In recent days, residents have taken to the streets to oppose any decision to build the plant nearby. The main urban area of Lianyungang is just 20 miles southwest of a large and growing nuclear power plant on the coast, but the idea of a nuclear fuel reprocessing facility also being built in the area seemed to push public unease to a new height.
A 21-year-old Lianyungang resident with the surname Tang said Wednesday that demonstrators had been chanting “Oppose nuclear waste, defend our home.’’ She did not want her full name used, citing fear of reprisal for talking to reporters.
“Nobody wants this kind of thing built in their own home,’’ Tang said.
China’s authoritarian leaders are wary of local protests escalating into broader challenges to their power. But local governments have often given ground in the face of growing public opposition to chemical plants, waste incinerators, and other potential sources of pollution. Now proposed nuclear projects are also becoming increasingly troublesome.
In Lianyungang and across China, the nuclear calamity in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011 has hardened public wariness of nuclear power, although the government argues that expanding the industry is essential for weaning the economy off coal, with all of its dangerous pollutants.
The biggest protest in Lianyungang took place Saturday, when many thousands of people, including families with children, marched through the downtown area.
