News of a polluted school area in China’s Changzhou (常州), Jiangsu province, that has left hundreds of students seriously ill, has hit Chinese netizens hard. State broadcaster CCTV reported the news on Saturday, with more details coming out the following days.
Students of Changzhou Foreign Language School fell ill after the middle school had moved to a new area in September of 2015. Soon, students started developing unusual health problems, such as severe skin reactions. These problems started surfacing when pupils got sick at the end of 2015. CCTV launched an investigation after concerned parents suspected a connection between the new school campus and their children’s illnesses.
By now, of the 641 students that have had medical check-ups, 493 students are confirmed to suffer from dermatitis, bronchitis, blood abnormalities, and other illnesses. There are also cases of cancer and leukemia. After several tests, the school’s air and water were found to be polluted due to three chemical plants that were housed near the premises of school campus, Sina News reports.
Students started getting skin reactions after moving to their new school (CCTV).
The news has become the focus of discussion on WeChat. On Sina Weibo, netizens are also responding to the news in great numbers, making the topic “Polluted School” (#被污染的学校#) a top trending topic.
On April 17, CCTV reported on its official Weibo account that according to China’s Ministry of Education, the school’s site had an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment, 环评) before moving the students there. The report noted that the soil and groundwater on the north side of the school were contaminated, forming a risk to human health – strictly prohibiting the school from using the water.
In a CCTV13 news report filmed at the school’s premises, students report that the water at school tasted “funny” and “sour”.
Changzhou Daily has released a statement on its Weibo account that the local government is currently investigating the case and that they have “zero tolerance” for pollution.
Netizens have responded in anger over the scandal, and the contrasting facts that are surfacing: “Either Changzou Daily or CCTV is lying,” one netizen says.
“Now that the details are being exposed, I just have one question: is this still a human world? I first always thought I would stay in China and wait for things to get better and if possible help them to get better, but now this madness is overwhelming. I can’t be sure that I will stay, but I want to stay,” one netizen nicknamed Riffharrise writes.
Now that so many students have fallen ill, some netizens wonder what this means for the employees of the chemical plants near the school.
One netizen, who says he is a school teacher in Changzhou, has posted photos of armed police at the school’s premises, where people allegedly have been protesting – yet this has not been officially confirmed.
One netizen named Xiao Zhuzi writes: “Why is it always the common people who suffer the consequences? Why is it always that these kind of problems are only handled after they are exposed by the media? No matter what happens next, the victims are still victimized. If you take the stinger out, the sting will still be there. I love my homeland, but there’s nothing sweet about it.”
– By Manya Koetse
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