Pollution and the revolution

I have opined here before that if the Chinese people perceive en masse that their government is not benevolently protecting them, and that the industry which truly rules all in their country isn't worrying much about their well-being, that an actual revolution could ensue. There have been inklings of this before, like the outrage about the contaminated milk that killed several young babies. And there is disturbance in "cancer cities" where the only drinking water available is laced with carcinogens, and cancer is widely prevalent. And it's not difficult to see the problems with air quality on any day in just about any city.

So here's another instance in which pollution caused a popular uprising, this time in Dalian. The reaction of the authorities was swift, and it had better keep on being so, or this particular form of societal cancer in their massively populated country could spread, take root, and grow -- and potentially be the seeds of overthrow. And that would be an economic upheaval, bar none.

China shuts chemical plant amid mass protest

Pictures of the protest posted on Sina's Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, showed people marching down a street with a banner that read: "We want to survive, we want a good environment, give me back my Dalian."

Other pictures showed wide streets full of protesters, hundreds of people staging a sit-in on a square in front of the government office, and children taking part in the demonstrations with their parents.