Near Guanyuan Road in the second phase of the Lugu Valley in Changsha, Hunan Province, the construction of a semiconductor mask substrate factory project affiliated with Puzhao Information Materials Co., Ltd. is set to begin (referred to as the semiconductor project). Due to the environmental pollution caused by this project, a large number of property owners in the surrounding residential areas have been protesting in recent days, but their demands have not been met.
The project that sparked this protest was originally scheduled to commence construction in May 2023 in the Changsha Yue Lu High-tech Development Zone. However, after two relocations in June and August of that year, it ultimately settled near Guanyuan Road in the Lugu Valley phase two of Changsha. Li Yan (pseudonym), a property owner in the nearby Baise Yunjing area, told a reporter from Dajiyuan that there are three residential areas in the vicinity with over three thousand households. In addition, there are two high schools, one elementary school, and two vocational schools nearby. The project is less than 500 meters away from multiple residential areas such as Baise Yunjing and Sunshine City Feili Yundi.
Property owners discovered issues with the project when they noticed in the planning and environmental assessment documents that the project was located in an area designated for non-residential use, despite the actual area being a residential community. The environmental assessment documents also highlighted concerns about pollution management, drawing the attention of property owners to the pollution problems associated with the project.
Li Yan stated that the project is divided into two phases, with the first phase involving the construction of four large chimneys. “The pollutants emitted by each chimney are harmful to the human body. Although the government claims that they will be treated to meet environmental standards, property owners do not believe it.”
“We feel that entrusting such supervision to others is less effective than having the project relocated because we had strong reservations about the factory from the beginning.”
The property owners’ rights protection activities began in mid-March and reached a climax on March 26th. Li Yan revealed that on March 26th, a so-called public hearing for the project was to be held. As a result, hundreds of property owners divided into two groups, with some heading to the factory and others going to the location of the public hearing at the street office. However, before the property owners arrived, around twenty fake property owners arranged by the government were already present at the scene, intending to sign on behalf of the property owners.
Li Yan said, “When we got there, we found that they had found many fake property owners who were there to speed up the public hearing process, so the property owners refused to sign.”
Outside the street office, a large number of property owners chanted slogans such as “Serve the People, Halt Puzhao Project”. Police were deployed by the government for maintaining order, and many property owners were taken away on buses. Li Yan mentioned that not only were property owners taken away, but those who were not taken were harassed by street office staff. Subsequently, videos posted by property owners on the internet were deleted, and text information on social media was also removed.
Subsequently, property owners attempted to seek redress through administrative review and other means, but as of the time of publication, their demands have not been addressed and are being ignored. A Dajiyuan reporter attempted to contact the local government department by phone but was unable to get through.
According to Li Yan, the majority of property owners have purchased pre-sale houses worth one and a half to two million yuan on loans. Some property owners have already moved in, while others have not yet taken possession of their properties. With such a large-scale semiconductor project being constructed now, along with the risk of pollution, property owners are more concerned about the depreciation of their real estate in the future, which would affect both renting and selling of properties.
Property owners indicated that they will continue to fight for their rights until the project is completely canceled.
Information shows that Hunan Puzhao Information Materials Co., Ltd. is currently the only professional manufacturer in mainland China engaged in the research, production, and sales of high-precision optical mask substrate materials (uniform chrome plate). The company was founded in August 2003 and is located in the Lugu area of the Changsha National High-tech Industrial Development Zone, with a registered capital of 105.9653 million yuan. It is controlled by Hunan Electronic Information Industry Group Co., Ltd., and the ultimate controlling entity is Hunan Xiangtou Holdings Group Co., Ltd.
Due to the high yield requirements for semiconductor products, the entire process must be carried out in a costly, clean, temperature- and humidity-controlled environment. Each step and pipeline in the design process is strictly managed, including the control of emissions of waste gases and water, as any slight mishap could lead to serious pollution.