June 30, 2005
Agence France-presse in Shanghai (from the Hong Kong South China Morning Post)

Hundreds villagers in eastern China have taken over a battery factory they accuse of producing pollution that is poisoning their children, and locked 1,000 workers inside, residents and officials said on Thursday.

About 600 people in Jianxia village in Zhejiang province have taken control of the Zhejiang Tianneng Battery company, a maker of car batteries, resident Han Cheng said.

"My dad is on night duty and my mother is day duty and we definitely will not let the workers out until a solution is found," Han said.

Residents marched on the factory on Sunday, saying it was the reason children in the community had lead poisoning.

"There are about 200 children in the village and they are all getting sick," said Han, who has a four-year-old daughter.

"They are polluting the air and it has been going on for 15 years."

Four people were hospitalised after they were injured when factory workers and villagers fought each other, he said.

Local government officials were meeting with residents to try to defuse the situation, said an official from Meishan town, where Jianxia village is located, about 150 kilometres from Shanghai.

"Authorities are there now trying to solve the problem," he said, refusing to be identified.

"Some of the villagers are overreacting and have acted on impulse. This can all be discussed over the table, but it is not right to not allow workers to come out," he said.

Telephones at the plant were not answered. Police were aware of the situation but refused comment.

Social unrest that often turns violent is becoming increasingly common in China, reflecting a high degree of dissatisfaction and distrust of authorities and businesses.

People in the world's most populous nation are also becoming increasingly informed about environmental pollution and demanding action for a problem that has plagued the country for years.