Article: China defends detention of lead poisoning victims who sought medical help, March 16, 2010, By Jonathan Watts, on the guardian.co.uk.

More than 50 villagers suffering from lead poisoning have been in custody for six months after the bus taking them to the doctor was stopped by police

I have no significant comment about the actions of Hunan police described by Jonathan Watts.  Simply put, the police of one Hunan county were protecting the interests of a company that brought jobs to the otherwise impoverished county, and that wanted to save money by not filtering sewage and putting in the proper health measures.

The valuable information is located in the second half of the article. Between the lines it is possible to see how continued pollution problems, in China, are not the result of evil group think.  There are plenty of good elements fighting to clean the country up and to help make the Chinese people more healthy.

I have highlighted areas for emphasis.  First off, healthcare and conflict have always gone hand in hand.

Amid widespread unease that the full scale of the problem has yet to emerge, the authorities face a growing environmental and public security challenge.

Widespread sickness has, historically, led to uprising.  The Chinese are well aware of this, especially since the entire pathos of Chinese government is focused on holding the state together while constantly fearing state collapse.

Unlike the familiar story line of China that we, in the West, are sometimes led to believe, there are many Chinese who want environmental change, and who care about the health of the population.  Moreover, the politics of the country are not homogenous.  There is great friction and competition between government departments.  The case of the Hunan poisoning victims is not due to a coordinated Hunan government action.  There were people in the environmental department fighting to keep the offending company out of the county.  And, previously, the company had been kicked out of a richer area.

The factory in Jiahe was operated by Tenda Corporation, a company that had been ejected from other, wealthier areas because of its dire pollution record. Jiahe – one of China’s poorest counties – allowed it to operate despite warnings from the local environmental department that the plant was breaking toxic emission regulations.

Is this so much different from poor counties, in America, or poor country regions, in Europe, competing to get businesses that richer areas can afford to refuse?

Notably, the healthcare professionals in Hunan appear to be heroes.  In the past, perhaps these victims would have been refused testing, or their tests somehow fudged.  In this case, test results came out decidedly in their favor and helped turn the tide against the offending company and the offending police department.

Local people complained of health problems and unusually belligerent behaviour and poor school grades among their children, but their petitions to the authorities were ignored for more than three years.

However, medical tests have proved their claims. The latest results, received on 24 February, revealed that 250 of the 397 children in the village had excess levels of lead in their blood. The victims included four of the five children of Liao Mingxiu, one of those still in police detention.

…

The source of the contamination, the Zhongyi Alloy factory, has since been closed.

But, lest we believe that the doctors are getting all independent on us, the propaganda department of Longchang (the Hunan county, in question) reminds us that the government is not afraid to use doctors as buffers for public sentiment.

“We have sent 10 doctors to the villages to explain the situation to residents,” said Zheng Shili, propaganda director of Longchang government. “Public sentiment is basically calm.”

*Thank you to Adam Cohn for the brilliant picture