There are few places in China more notorious for environmental pollution than Taiyuan. The capital of the northern province of Shanxi is at the heart of the country’s coal industry and has long suffered from unrelenting smog.
So when Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer by revenue, began moving some of its production to inland provinces six years ago, local authorities in Taiyuan lobbied for them to set up shop there, hoping for new employment from a cleaner industry. Now, some local residents regret Foxconn’s presence.
According to a report by five Chinese environmental groups published on Wednesday, residents of the Hengda Oasis residential compound, located just west of the Foxconn plant, have complained of air pollution from the facility since 2009.