Page 165 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Chapter 6. The Xiamen PX plant event

patent technology with huge investment in environmental protection to ensure the safe-

ty, stability and reliability of the project; (3) Haicang PX plant can exist harmoniously
with the local residents. The letter also declared that Xianglu petrochemical had passed
the environmental assessment; and the discharge from the plant did pass the environ-
mental standard. However, the strategy did not change the citizens’ minds (Huang,
2010).

Figure 25. A photo of the public hearing.
On 13 and 14 December 2007, a public hearing was convened to offer the oppor-
tunity for Xiamen citizens to express their concerns and opinions. However, they did
not have the power to make the final decision. Some 107 representatives were chosen

and invited to this public hearing; half from the municipal People’s Congress and Po-
litical Consultative Committee, and half from the general public. The public represent-
atives were selected through a televised lottery from 624 people who registered online.

However, some journalists claimed that not all of the participants were randomly se-
lected (Ansfield, 2013). Yuan Dongxing and Lian Yue were among the public represent-
atives. Xinhua news reported the public hearing’s result: 91 were against the project, 15
supported it and 1 abstained (ibid).
The Party Secretary of Fujian Province, Lu Zhangong, said:

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