At least 50,000 Shanghai protesters have gathered Friday for the fifth day of their disapproval over a paraxylene plant that is said to be in the cards for the Jinshan District.

China Digital Times has learned that the Chinese protesters remain unfazed despite the growing number of authorities attempting to contain the situation.

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The number of Chinese protesters continue to grow as days pass and in spite of the assurances made by Jinshan authorities that no paraxylene plant is in the works.

"This has been going on for five days now, and I am guessing that there are about 50,000 people here today, even more than yesterday, when there were about 40,000," a resident of the area where the protest is still ongoing said, refusing to give his identity to the media.

The Shanghai residents are said to be very alarmed of the rumored paraxylene plant because their district is already home to a chemical industrial park.

Their drive to protest was all the more fuelled by a speculation claiming that an existing paraxylene plant in Gaoqiao is to be relocated to Jinshan.

While Friday's protest was carried out peacefully, things were dismal on Saturday's protest, when police escorted at least three busloads of protesters, US News reports citing the Associated Press.

The incident was the authorities response to the environmental protesters' move to rally outside the municipal government in central Shanghai.

The protest was almost peaceful until police started loading demonstrators to buses before sending them away to downtown Shanghai. Some less obedient protesters engaged in scuffles but to no avail.

"People got angry and started to chant, and then they were taken away by police," a local resident said.

Since Monday, environmental protesters gathered to send their outcry to the officials. However, the government has since launched propaganda activities to deny that a paraxylene plant will be built in Jinshan anytime soon.

The ongoing protest in Jinshan is just one of the string of protests against the petrochemicals industry, as per Radio Free Asia.

The Chinese government have been trying to locate paraxylene plants in several Chinese cities, including Dalian and Xiamen, only to receive strong opposition from the public. 

TagsProtest, Paraxylene Plant