Outcry Over Hush-Hush Nuclear Plans in Southern China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A complex of nuclear fuel facilities has been quietly planned in Heshan in China's southern Guangdong province, unleashing a wave of anger among Web users when local media brought the “high-risk” project to light.
The Nuclear Power Industry Park will provide uranium conversion for enrichment and fuel fabrication for nuclear power plants for Guangdong and other Asian countries. The total investment of the 299-hectare nuclear complex is about 40 billion yuan (seven billion US dollars) and it will begin to manufacture its first reactor fuel in 2020.
On July 4, 2013 Jiangmen City government announced [zh] a 10-day consultation period in its website in a low-profiled manner. Most Chinese netizens were unaware of the project until local newspaper, Nanfang Daily, picked up the story on July 10 and exposed that the Heshan government has signed the contract with China National Neclear Corp (CNNC) even though the project has not been approved by National Development and Reform Commission [zh] (NDRC).
The nuclear fuel complex is 120 km away from Hong Kong. Image from the Housenews. Non-commercial use.
Another newspaper, the First Financial Daily also ran an article criticizing [zh] the lack of public consultation on the project.
While the majority of people from the affected area were unaware of the ongoing consultation, the Heshan government claimed that people's silence means approval [zh].
Microbloggers on Sina Weibo are outraged by the government's attempt to conceal the high risk project from the public. In the news comment section [zh], “Nickname dry shrimp” (@虾米是昵称) highlighted the lack of procedure justice:
公示时间也太短了吧？还有前一则新闻说，鹤山市领导对此项目的态度竟然是一个字“快”，上马不是不行，能不能公公正正走出来让大家都看着监督着？你们领导的节操何在？
The public notice is too short. Another news story said that Heshan city leaders just wanted the project to kick off ASAP. Why can't you put forward the project for public deliberation and monitoring? Do the leaders have integrity at all?
“Rabbit's tear” (@兔仔的眼泪) criticized:
爱侨乡的官是不会招揽这些项目，只有爱钱的官才会招揽！中国豆腐渣工程太多了，我们对核污染辐射的治理没信心！核污染再小都不能忽视！一旦出现核泄露不但会污染环境，还危害当地人安全，更严重是波及我们子孙后代！凭什么把个炸弹放在我们身边？
The officials who genuinely love our homeland will never agree on this project. Only those who love money will welcome this. We have so many Tofu-dreg projects in China and have no confidence in dealing with radiation. Nuclear contamination cannot be ignored. It not only pollutes the environment, poses security threats to local residents, but also affects our offsprings. Why should we accept a bomb in our neighborhood.
The project will not only affect Jiangmen but the whole Pearl River Delta, as @lionlee88 pointed out:
这个项目距离位于珠三角几乎中心，紧紧挨着佛山肇庆珠海，离广州不到80公里，离香港不到120公里。一味GDP，在人口密集区域做这个决策实在不负责任！牵连甚广，沉默就是认可。。。
The project is located at the center of the Pearl River Delta next to Fushan, Zhaoxin and Zhuhai. It is 80 km away from Guangzhou city and 120 km away from Hong Kong. The officials only care about GDP and it is absolutely irresponsible to have such project carry out in such a high density area. It will affect so many people, yet the officials said silence means approval….
Instead of addressing people's concerns, the Heshan government blamed the public for being ignorant of the development of science and technologies that make nuclear fuel manufacture a no-risk operation, and quoting experts to back their claim. However, they did not cover the fact that uranium conversion runs the risk of chemical and radiological pollution through air and water in the process of gasification and liquidation.
To deliver the message of “zero pollution”, local governments from Heshan and Jiangmen have mobilized media outlets to “educate” the public. Jiangmen police's official microblog on Sina Weibo has been turned into [zh] a science education channel:
#鹤山核燃料项目知识介绍#李季科表示,我国核燃料技术已经十分完善,中核集团龙湾工业园首次采取了循环经济和全流程运作,避免因工序分散,半成品要在各地转来转去上万公里。而在去年一项关键技术突破后,中核集团龙湾工业园将完全可以达到工业污染零排放,园区将没有任何废液排放管，废气则早已可达标排放。
#Introduction to the Heshan Nuclear fuel project# Li Guike [CNNC's representative) said that China's nuclear fuel technology is very advanced. The Longwan Industrial park is the first time CNNC has adopted a one-stop processing industrial chain. Such an arrangement is to prevent the transportation of semi-finished products from other parts of China. Last year, the corporation had a scientific breakthrough and the Longwan Industrial Park will have zero pollution. There wouldn't be any water emission from the campus and the gas emitted into the atmosphere will be up to standard.
Netizens were highly skeptical of the “scientific knowledge” delivered by the Jiangmen police. Below is a selection of comments:
最烦小秘三世：公安来科普核燃料知识，这是一种什么精神？
“Highly troubled secretary”: Can anyone tell me how come the police are involved in delivering knowledge about the manufacture of nuclear fuel?
Tong_leung：市民要的知道的是存在的各风险，不是我们不愿意相信，但国内有多少是知名企业出了事，这是为什么？难道他们不是也有一套规范流程吗？不要一味说安全和绝对安全..生活在这里的人民都有知情权！！
“Tong Leung”: What we want to know is the potential risk of the project. In China, how many well-known corporations have lost their reputation? They also have a standard security procedure. Don't just tell me how safe or how absolutely safe the project is… we have right to know [the potential risks].
單票獨者：曾几何時專家説：水稻畝産万斤完全可以做到，曾几何時，国産免檢的奶粉卻有三聚青氨。曾几何時，橋塌了卻説汽車超載。磚家，教我如何相信你？
“One ticket solitude”: Some time ago experts said that we could grow 5,000 kilograms of rice in per Mu (614.4 square meter) of land. Some time ago, the highest quality milk companies which had been exempted from quality check had melamine in their milk powder. Some time ago, the bridge fell down and the experts blamed the truck for overloading. How can I ever trust experts again?
VV博弈：中国处理排污、环保的水平都十分落后，还怎么谈核处理，简直天荒夜谈，世界大笑话，人民的灾难！
“VV Contest”: China is very backward in handling pollution. How can it handle nuclear waste properly? This is a science fiction, a joke and people's disaster.