Parents detained for violent protest over lead pollution

POLICE in central China detained 15 parents for a violent protest over factory pollution that left hundreds of children with lead poisoning, and accused them of links to the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, villagers said yesterday.

Villagers mocked the accusation, saying authorities were using the charge to take revenge against parents involved in the August 8 unrest in Hunan province’s Wenping township, that broke out after more than 1,300 children were poisoned by emissions from a manganese processing plant.

Falun Gong practitioners are relentlessly persecuted by Chinese authorities.