Resident throws bottle at judge over water hikes
16:46, December 11, 2009 
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A resident threw a plastic bottle at a judge to protest the hike in the price of water during a recent public hearing in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province.
Liu Tianxiao, a retired teacher, alleged all the 32 representatives at the public hearing on Tuesday were government workers, none of whom were opposed to the price hike.
Liu said he threw the bottle at the judge because he "did not even get a chance" to voice his disapproval.
Harbin authorities decided to raise the price of water by a third from 1.8 yuan to 2.4 yuan per cu m due to the heavy investment in the Mopan Mountain water supply project.
The 5.7-billion-yuan project provides purified water to the city's residents at an estimated cost of 4.47 yuan per cu m, inclusive of tax.
"I don't approve of the hike in the price of water," Liu told State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) yesterday.
Liu said the service and the water quality provided by the new project are "not satisfactory".
However, all the other representatives at the hearing were of the opinion that the hike in price was justified.
China Youth Daily yesterday reported that all the 12 consumer representatives who attended the hearing were government workers.
This year, the domestic water consumption in Harbin has reached nearly 100 million cu m. The price of water has not been increased since 2001.
A number of major cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai increased the price of water this year, with many others like Nanjing, Shenyang, Lanzhou and Kunming also announcing plans to hike prices.
Currently, the average price of water in 35 major cities is 3.77 yuan per cu m, a rise of nearly 5 percentage points since last year, CCTV reported.
About half of the 35 major cities will increase their water prices this year and a third of all the cities are expected to raise prices next year, 21st Century Business Herald reported last month.
Shanghai raised residential water prices by 25 percent in June and plans a 22-percent increase in November 2010. Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, raised water prices by 25 percent in April, with officials saying prices will have to be increased more rapidly in the future.
At least half a dozen other cities have raised water prices in the past few months.
Source: China Daily
Liu Tianxiao, a retired teacher, alleged all the 32 representatives at the public hearing on Tuesday were government workers, none of whom were opposed to the price hike.
Liu said he threw the bottle at the judge because he "did not even get a chance" to voice his disapproval.
Harbin authorities decided to raise the price of water by a third from 1.8 yuan to 2.4 yuan per cu m due to the heavy investment in the Mopan Mountain water supply project.
The 5.7-billion-yuan project provides purified water to the city's residents at an estimated cost of 4.47 yuan per cu m, inclusive of tax.
"I don't approve of the hike in the price of water," Liu told State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) yesterday.
Liu said the service and the water quality provided by the new project are "not satisfactory".
However, all the other representatives at the hearing were of the opinion that the hike in price was justified.
China Youth Daily yesterday reported that all the 12 consumer representatives who attended the hearing were government workers.
This year, the domestic water consumption in Harbin has reached nearly 100 million cu m. The price of water has not been increased since 2001.
A number of major cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai increased the price of water this year, with many others like Nanjing, Shenyang, Lanzhou and Kunming also announcing plans to hike prices.
Currently, the average price of water in 35 major cities is 3.77 yuan per cu m, a rise of nearly 5 percentage points since last year, CCTV reported.
About half of the 35 major cities will increase their water prices this year and a third of all the cities are expected to raise prices next year, 21st Century Business Herald reported last month.
Shanghai raised residential water prices by 25 percent in June and plans a 22-percent increase in November 2010. Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, raised water prices by 25 percent in April, with officials saying prices will have to be increased more rapidly in the future.
At least half a dozen other cities have raised water prices in the past few months.
Source: China Daily
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