"Plan for incinerator project scrapped after protesters clash with police in Guangdong", 12 May 2017

The city of Qingyuan in Guangdong has reconsidered its plan to build a waste incinerator plant…following mass protests and clashes between demonstrators and police. Thousands of local residents have protested against the plan for several days, and authorities deployed large numbers of riot police to counter the protests…Video shot by eyewitnesses…showed police…hitting villagers with batons…police firing tear gas at protesters…

…[A] local resident told Hong Kong broadcaster TVB that villagers were misled by the local government. “When the project first came down, [the government] told us that it was an environmentally-friendly renewable energy plant…” The government only announced that it was a waste incinerator after they had signed land acquisition agreements, the resident said. Villagers worried that the plant would emit toxic chemicals, pollute their water supply, and harm their health…Another resident told…that they did not trust the government to prevent the plant from emitting toxic chemicals.

The government announced it would scrap its plan to build the incinerator…according to its social media accounts…It is unclear whether it may do so in the future, nor is it clear whether the project has been cancelled, or merely postponed.