Page 164 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Feasibility Study of New Media Technology
on Constructing Online Public Sphere

6.3.5 The triangular dynamics among the government, internet compa-
nies and the public

Unsurprisingly, most Xiamen citizens were profoundly sceptical of the govern-
ment’s response at first, and 700 comments were made on the government-backed web
portal within a few hours (Ansfield, 2013). A representative example reads:

‘The PX plant is still being built; Quick, turn on your pollution gauges; If the
chemical plant does not go, we will go; Get out! Can’t the people’s government
think about the people? The day PX plant comes production is the day I leave
Xiamen’. (Ansfield, 2013, p.141)

On 8 December, Xiamen Network opened a public voting platform called Listen
to the public’s voice, make scientific decision – Environmental Impact Assessment
Report on the key areas in Xiamen (Haicang District) and public participation event.
However, an hour after the page opened, it was suddenly closed. The voting page dis-

appeared the next day and the web address automatically transferred to another page.
Xiamen Network explained that they stopped the public voting because of technical
problems – the vote did not impose restrictions on IP addresses. The final voting result
was: 55,376 against PX (more than 90%) and 3,078 in favour (Huang, 2010).

Similarly, in my questionnaire around half of the participants (51.43%) indicated
that pollution was the reason that they opposed PX plant, 18.10% opposed it because
25
of the NIMBY effect, and 5.71% were behaving for conformity, this means ‘Be-
cause others say that PX is dangerous, I am against it’. Only 6.67% actually supported

the project and 3.81% believed there was no harm in the production of PX, whereas
14.29% showed support provided that the site selection of the PX plant was reasonable.
The overall result was 75.24% opposed and 24.77% in favour.
On 13 December, Xianglu Tenglong Corporation (the PX project executor) au-

thorised Southern Weekend to publish an apology. It stated that: (1) PX is of low toxic-
ity and cannot lead to cancer or birth defects; (2) Haicang PX plant used world-leading
25 NIMBY (not in my backyard) effect refers to a psychological phenomenon that the residents oppose
a proposal for a new development because it is close to their neighbourhood and people believe that it
may have negative influence on their health, living environment and property value. Residents usually
believe that the new developments are needed in the society, however, they should be further away from the
neighbourhood.

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