VZCZCXRO2579
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHGZ #0050/01 0320052
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 010052Z FEB 10
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1328
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE 0451
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1083
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0376
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0377
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0386
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0441
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 0324
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC 0134
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC 0060
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON DC 0033
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC 0242
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC 0419
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC 0415

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUANGZHOU 000050 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM, EB/ESC, OES/ENV, INR/EAP 
STATE PASS EPA 
BEIJING FOR FCS, ESTH AND DOE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV PGOV ECPS EIND CH HK
SUBJECT: Something Stinks in Guangzhou - Government Forced to Adopt 
New Approach to Solving City's Garbage Problem 
 
GUANGZHOU 00000050  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary and Comment:  After sustained public pressure 
forced officials in December to shelve a garbage incineration 
project, Guangzhou is now turning to the Internet for solutions to 
the city's growing waste disposal problem.  Guangzhou's municipal 
government issued a notice January 14 urging residents to submit 
(via the websites of four media networks and two government 
departments) proposals for dealing with the city's mounting trash -- 
nearly 12,000 tons per day.  The city government's newly announced 
public consultation strategy contrasts sharply with its initial 
intransigence regarding construction of the incinerator in Panyu 
district and may indicate a shift towards greater willingness to 
solicit public input, at least for policies with environment and 
public health implications.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
GOVERNMENT FIRMLY BEHIND INCINERATOR TWO MONTHS AGO 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) In late November 2009, municipal officials announced their 
intention to move forward with the construction of a garbage 
incineration plant in Panyu, which had been authorized in 2002 by 
the Panyu District People's Congress.  With a total capacity of 
2,000 tons per day, the incinerator, if built, would fulfill the 
city's requirement that the 1,600 tons of trash produced each day in 
Panyu be disposed of in the same district.  Officials initially 
turned a deaf ear to public concerns voiced in newspapers and online 
chat rooms that residents living near a waste incinerator built in 
2005 in Likeng district exhibited a higher incidence of cancer.  At 
a November 22 press conference, Lu Zhiyi, vice secretary general of 
the Guangzhou municipal government told reporters that construction 
of the incinerator would proceed according to schedule.  He also 
stated his belief that the negative health impacts of dioxin -- a 
by-product of burning garbage -- had been exaggerated and assured 
reporters that the incineration plant would introduce 
state-of-the-art overseas technology to limit pollution.  (Note: A 
study released this week by the Guangdong CDC concluded that cancer 
rates in the village surrounding the Likeng garbage incinerator were 
not elevated compared to the city's overall rates.  End Note.) 
 
----------------------------------------- 
HEALTH CONCERNS TRIGGERED PUBLIC BACKLASH 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Vice Secretary General Lu assured reporters at the 
conference that construction of the incinerator would not commence 
until an environmental impact assessment had been completed. 
Without elaborating Lu also mentioned that Panyu residents would 
have the opportunity to express their opinions about the proposed 
incineration plant through a series of public events.  Taking this 
comment as an invitation, the next day 300 residents flooded 
Guangzhou municipal government headquarters, blocking entrances on 
both sides of the building.  The residents also filed a petition 
with the Guangzhou Urban Management Committee indicating their 
opposition to the project.  Later that day, Guangzhou Vice Mayor Su 
Zequn articulated a revised government position; namely, that the 
incinerator project would not move forward if opposed by the 
majority of residents.  Su hedged his comments by noting that Panyu 
residents would still be held responsible for disposing of the 
garbage they produced. 
 
---------------------------------- 
RESIDENT JOURNALISTS PLAY KEY ROLE 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Increasing environmental awareness and the growing 
popularity of the "NIMBY" (not in my backyard) attitude are the 
primary factors driving the organized public and media response, 
according to a researcher at the Guangzhou Academy of Social 
Sciences.  The contact also told ESTHOff that Panyu district is home 
to at least 200 influential journalists and that despite orders from 
the city government to tone down articles written about the 
incinerator project, the journalists were able to use personal 
connections with national-level media to attract central government 
attention to the issue.  In addition, our contact claimed that the 
 
GUANGZHOU 00000050  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Panyu incident reveals the lack of government capacity for dealing 
with the public, which Panyu Party Secretary Tan Yinghua also 
acknowledged by publicly apologizing  for ignoring public opinions 
during the policy planning process. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
CORRUPTION ALLEGATION PROMPTS POSPONEMENT 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) While public pressure may have succeeded in wearing down 
the government's defense of the incineration project, it was a 
corruption allegation posted on an influential website that appears 
to have scored the knockout.  On December 1, a well-known netizen 
posted a message indicating that Vice Secretary General Lu Zhiyi's 
brother was the manager of elevator and equipment manufacturer 
Guangri Group -- wholly owned by the Guangzhou municipal government 
-- and that his son had been hired as manager of the procurement 
department of a company called Guangzhou Environmental Investment. 
The brother's company had signed a BOT (build-operate-transfer) 
contract with the Guangzhou government to be responsible for the 
investment, construction, operation and maintenance of Guangzhou's 
incineration projects while the son's company was launched as a 
subsidiary of Guangri Group to focus on incinerator construction. 
Although Vice Secretary General Lu called the allegations "sheer 
nonsense," the next official statement on the incineration project 
was the announcement on December 20 that it had been postponed. 
 
------------------------------- ------------------------- 
GOVERNMENT SWITCHES TACTICS BUT INCINERATOR NOT OFF TABLE 
------------------------------- ------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) On December 11, the Panyu district government issued a 
three-step plan for reaching a consensus on garbage disposal.  The 
first step, set to last until the end of January, is the 
implementation of a garbage classification pilot program in three 
neighborhoods of the district, with the goal of reaching a 30% 
recycling rate in these areas.  From January until the end of 2010, 
the whole district will engage in garbage classification with a goal 
of 30% district-wide recycling rate by 2012.  The third proposed 
step, which sparked an immediate negative reaction in local media, 
requires the government and residents to work together to pick a 
site in Panyu for the location of a garbage incinerator. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) More recently, the government issued a notice on January 
14 calling on residents to submit ideas and proposals for solving 
the city's garbage problem directly to relevant government 
departments.  The notice directed residents to links on the websites 
of four major media networks and two government offices -- the 
Guangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) and the Guangzhou 
Urban Management Commission -- for an online form submitted directly 
to the municipal government.  One catch is that netizens are 
required on these sites to provide their on-line name, real name, 
cell phone number, and mailing address.  Also, it appears that only 
one of the media sites allows users to view comments posted by 
fellow residents. 
 
--------------------------- ---------------------- 
NEED SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE ON WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS 
--------------------------- ---------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: The municipal government may ultimately defeat 
corruption charges and disregard public opposition to build the 
incineration plant in Panyu.  At least in the short term, however, 
officials appear open to consulting with the public and experts on 
alternative solutions.  Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences Party 
Secretary Li Jiangtao recently told the Consul General that solid 
waste disposal was one of the most critical problems the city faces. 
 Scientific evidence regarding the relative health impacts of 
incinerators versus landfills could help the government make a 
decision and form the foundation for a more rational public debate 
on the garbage disposal issue, according to one of the Academy's 
researchers.  After speculating that the use of several large 
incineration plants with advanced environmental controls might be a 
superior option to the current reliance on small landfills, the 
 
GUANGZHOU 00000050  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
researcher requested the Consulate's assistance in providing 
information regarding the U.S. experience with waste disposal 
systems. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
NEW TACTICS MAY INCREASE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment (continued): The resolution of the Panyu garbage 
problem notwithstanding, the government's public acknowledgement 
that the failure to consult with residents before developing the 
garbage disposal plan led to its failure may reflect greater 
willingness in local government to consult with the public. 
Emboldened by the success of public demonstrations, media activism, 
and online criticism in the Panyu case, city dwellers may be 
increasingly unwilling to tolerate government proposals they 
perceive will adversely affect their health or living environment. 
Government officials, as a result, may decide to expand the use of 
the Internet as a tool for consulting and negotiating with the 
public during the planning process in order to avoid triggering 
future protests and attracting negative attention.  End Comment. 
 
GOLDBECK