China cancels project after protests

Officials buckle under pressure from protest against industrial waste pipeline project in Qidong province.

Hundreds of demonstrators protesting against alleged pollution from a paper factory in eastern China's Jiangsu province have clashed with police, forcing authorities to drop plans for a water-discharge project. 

The Qidong government announced on its website on Saturday that plans to build the water-discharge project had been scrapped. The official Xinhua News Agency said thousands of residents took to the streets but dispersed after the government announcement.

The demonstration was the latest in a string of protests sparked by fears of environmental degradation and highlights the social tensions the government in Beijing faces as it approaches a leadership transition this year.

About 1,000 protesters marched through the coastal city, shouting slogans against the planned pipeline that would have emptied waste from a paper factory in a nearby town into the sea.

"The government says the waste will not pollute the sea, but if that's true, then why don't they dump it into Yangtze River?" said Lu Shuai, a 25-year-old protester who works in logistics.