The weekend before last, protests over a garbage incinerator turned violent in Hangzhou, China, a wealthy and growing metropolis less than an hour's train ride south of Shanghai.
The protesters have good reason to fear the half-built facility: Chinese incinerators typically emit far more toxic pollutants than those in Europe and other developed regions, often with tragic environmental and human consequences. Making matters worse, they're usually built with little public consultation.
The weekend protests — which resulted in 53 arrests, according to state news media — were merely the latest in a growing, citizen-driven movement against such burners.
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