On March 11th, in the Jiangxia District of Wuhan, Hubei province, nearly a thousand angry residents surrounded a black official car carrying the deputy mayor, shouting “Release the people! Release the people!” demanding the release of residents taken away by the police. On the evening of March 15th, residents gathered again, and under public pressure, the authorities announced the withdrawal of the planned project. This signifies the forced suspension of the project advancement.
China’s Collective Protest Events Record website released a video showing the scene at the Jiangxia District protest by residents in Wuhan. Due to dissatisfaction with the local Chinese Communist Party government’s plan to build a large power battery plant near residential areas, and forcibly changing the land planning originally designated for education and medical use, thousands of property owners from surrounding communities initiated continuous protests for several days.
A resident of Wuhan, using the pseudonym Gao Xiaohong, told Epoch Times that the residents’ protest activities began in early March, starting with dozens of protesters and escalating to over a thousand on March 11th. “On the evening of the 11th, clashes between residents and police escalated, demanding the release of those who were arrested. Several communities, such as Poly Time Impression, Vanke Joint Investment Ideal Starlight, and WISCO Wan Jing Waterfront, have participated. I estimate there were nearly a thousand people.”
Videos from the scene show multiple police cars parked on both sides of the road, with a large number of police and special forces guarding the area and carrying out clearance operations. During the clearance process, the police took away several residents involved in safeguarding their rights. The swift arrest operation quickly escalated the emotions of the protesting crowd.
A resident, Mr. Wang, told reporters that people questioned why the government changed the original plans for schools and green spaces to an industrial project. After the police took away residents, the crowd’s emotions intensified. “There were many people on the 11th of March, residents from several surrounding communities came out. We protested because the battery plant to be built is only 11 meters away from our residential area, and they even arrested our people.”
The angry residents then surrounded an official car at the scene where a deputy mayor was handling the situation. The residents continuously tapped on the car windows, shouted slogans, demanded the release of the taken residents, and asked the government to “serve the people.” Some demanded the officials to explain, while others shouted, “If you can’t handle it, get out.” Under continued pressure from the encirclement, the deputy mayor eventually got out of the car to briefly communicate with the crowd, but did not release the taken individuals, nor announced the cancellation of the project. Subsequently, with more police presence, the crowd gradually dispersed, but the tense atmosphere at the scene did not dissipate.
A resident, Ms. Li, told reporters, “Everyone wanted the government to come out and clarify things. Since the plans changed suddenly, the residents should be given an explanation.”
At the core of this conflict is the “Chu Neng New Energy” power battery project promoted by the Wuhan municipal government of the Chinese Communist Party. The total investment of the project is about 22 billion yuan, with a planned annual production capacity of 80 GWh, seen as an important investment project for the new energy industry by local authorities.
The controversy stems from a planning revision in the Jiangxia District. On February 13, 2026, the local government issued a public notice on zoning modifications, proposing adjustments to units F0106 and F0108. The land originally zoned for educational, medical, and ecological residential purposes was proposed to be changed to industrial land.
The proposed project is only tens of meters away from several residential areas including Poly Time Impression, Vanke Joint Investment Ideal Starlight, and WISCO Wan Jing Waterfront, directly affecting thousands of households.
Resident Mrs. Li said, “We are not against the new energy industry, we just feel that such a large factory is too close to the residential area.” Mr. Wang stated that many families are concerned about the potential impact on future living environments and residential safety. The authorities did not hold hearings or engage in public communication before the planning adjustment – “suddenly they said they wanted to build a factory.”
On the evening of March 15th, residents gathered again near the proposed project. The head of the Jiangxia District Petition Bureau announced in front of the crowd that the previously issued planning adjustment notice was invalidated. Although the officials did not clarify whether the project was entirely canceled, the withdrawal of the notice signifies a forced suspension of the project advancement process.
Independent scholar Xue Yang, pseudonym, from Tsinghua University, bluntly told reporters that such conflicts are the inevitable outcome of local Chinese Communist Party governments pursuing “achievement projects” at the expense of people’s livelihoods.
He pointed out that authorities, disregarding environmental risks, forcibly advancing large, highly polluting projects in residential areas, essentially “robbing the people.” In the Black Box politics of the Chinese Communist Party, the government retracting the announcement is not a matter of conscience but more of a “makeshift measure” recognizing that grassroots resistance could undermine their rule. This decision merely exchanges temporary concessions to quell public anger and prevent escalation of the situation.
Xue Yang believes that as long as this “GDP-only” and authoritarian power structure remains, the project could reappear under a different name at any time, and the public’s existential crisis has not been truly resolved.