"Heating Not Working Even at -30°C" Chinese Residents' Protest... Settled with Two Months' Fees

Residents protesting heating shutdown in front of the government building of Qing'an County, Heilongjiang Province, China. Photo by Dongfang Video Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Nahana] Residents of Heilongjiang Province in northern China protested at the local government offices, complaining that their homes were not properly heated despite temperatures dropping to minus 30 degrees Celsius.

According to Chinese media outlets Dongfang and Beijing Youth Daily on the 6th, about 100 residents of Qing'an County in Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province, gathered at the county government building on the 5th to protest the sudden heating shutdown.

The related video posted that day showed scenes of people gathered in the courtyard in front of the building and others breaking through police barriers inside the building to go upstairs.

A local resident said, "The temperature recently has been minus 30 degrees, but the heating was not working properly," and criticized, "The power plant stops heat supply for several days every winter citing maintenance, and I suspect collusion between the government and companies behind this."

According to the Chinese meteorological authorities, Suihua experienced a low temperature of minus 25 degrees Celsius that day.

China widely uses a government-controlled central heating system, and after the residents' protest, Qing'an County authorities stated, "The heating temperature dropped due to an accident such as a rupture in the power plant's water cooling wall pipe," and "Repairs have been completed and heat supply has resumed."

The power plant reportedly decided to refund two months' worth of heating fees to the affected residents.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.