Zhang Zhibiao says he is just a farmer, but many people say he is a strong environmental guard.

Zhang Zhibiao is from Lantian village, Huangxing town near Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, central China. People describe Huangxing as the "right lung" of Changsha. Thus, they want to take care of it.

Looking at the beautiful green environment now in winter in this area, one couldn't imagine how polluted it was and how it was cleaned up.

With the single-minded idea of wanting only money but not life under the disguise of development, local government gave permission to 13 heavy polluting chemical factories for their production. It was recorded that these factories could submit revenue of 20 million yuan or 2.5 million US dollars to the local government, a number not small for the local area.

However, what they produced has seriously polluted the local air, water and soil. With the strong acid rain and water, people couldn't cook their rice with such water but had to go far away to fetch clean water. The air was stimulant to your nose, when you smelt it. The local people felt sick. A lot of soil around the factory was dark and dead.

According to a report from the environmental sector of the local government, among 13 manganese sulfate plants, five of them were built by the Liuyang River. The report said that in 2002, 66.4 million cubic meters of industrial waste emission were produced, equal to 2,155 tons of sulphur dioxide, 3,545 tons of dust and 680 tons of industrial dust, and 28,000 tons of solid waste. All these waste was released to the air, river and soil without any treatment. The main pollution was manganese dust and acid fog. These pollutants were carried to other places by rain. Thus, surrounding water and soil were also polluted.

Without any other choice, villager Huang Li chose to leave the village because his house was eroded by the industrial pollution seriously. "I couldn't open my window because the air smelt terrible."

These plants were built since the late 1980s and they had created 1,000 jobs and earned a lot of money for the local government. However, the cost paid by the environment and society was never counted. They only counted the revenues submitted to the government. No one seriously counted that the fish and weed in the river had all died.

In 2002, Zhang Zhibiao was elected Party secretary of Lantian village. He was also a people's deputy.

Then he was determined to do something for the villagers. Huang Li's leaving especially strengthened his will to change the situation. He tried to report the problem to town leaders and then county-level leaders. He called for closing the factories. In fact, according to the state regulations, these factories should have been shut down before 2000. But due to local protectionism and for the sake of small-numbered people, it was difficult to do it.

But as Xinhuanet (who quoted Changsha Evening) reported, Zhang Zhibiao never gave up. He led local people to demonstrate and protest against the pollution and even though he received threatening phone calls everyday. He was even told that if he stopped protest or request for the closedown, he would be given one million yuan. Zhang Zhibiao's answer to this was "I don't want money, I want life."

Due to his stubbornness, he was one day called to go to local government for a meeting. But in fact he was detained by this way. The villagers didn't bog down. They continued to protest.

Later, due to the report from Xinhuanet (who quoted Changsha Evening), this matter aroused the attention from then vice premier Wen Jiabao, who then said these plants should definitely be closed down. Then Wang Jirong, then deputy minister of State Environment Protection Administration came to Hunan and got Zhang Zhibiao released.

Zhang was warmly welcomed by the locals.

After the factories were shut down, they designed a sustainable development policy fit for the local conditions. They mainly develop ecological economy by planting flower and organic vegetables as well as tourism.

By the end of last year, the total revenue of Huangxing town surpasses 15 million yuan, just five million less than the polluted industry. But the local air, river and soil have substantially improved.

Local people are now happily developing their economy in their own land for the benefit of the whole region. They say they will carefully protect the "right lung" of Changsha, a vivid description of the local area.

By People's Daily Online