Farmer studies law for 16 years to defeat polluting company
It is claimed that Qinghua first dumped hazardous wastewater near Mr Wang’s land in 2001, preventing him from growing his crops. Mr Wang claimed he was playing cards and cooking with neighbours on the eve of the Lunar New Year when water began leaking into his house.
Since 2001, Qinghua has reportedly released 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes of annual chemical waste from a polyvinyl chloride plant near Mr Wang’s home village near the city of Qiqihar in northeast China.
The corporation has also made 71 acres of land unusable by dumping calcium carbide, and filled a 478-acre pond with liquid waste.
When asked to produce legal evidence of the pollution, Mr Wang began his studies.
According to a translation by the Daily Mail, he said: “I knew I was in the right, but I did not know what law the other party had broken or whether or not there was evidence.”
Initially, he was forced to copy out information by hand in a bookshop, paying the store’s owner in sacks of corn. He started receiving free legal advice in 2007, after half a decade of solo study, and finally filed a legal petition.
The case reportedly took another 8 years to get to court, but the Angangxi District Court has finally ruled against the Qinghua Group, awarding ¥820,000 (£96,000) to Mr Wang and his neighbours.
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