{"id":7767,"date":"2011-02-25T01:02:43","date_gmt":"2011-02-25T01:02:43","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-02-27T04:02:17","modified_gmt":"2011-02-27T04:02:17","slug":"The-Fight-of-The-Warriors-of-Qiugang-","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=7767","title":{"rendered":"The Fight of \u2018The Warriors of Qiugang\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2004, Zhang Gongli began a legal battle to rid his community of pollution caused by a nearby pesticide plant. The farmer\u2019s once-idyllic village of Qiugang in China\u2019s eastern Anhui province had become choked with toxic waste: Residents fell ill, crops suffered and waters filled with dead fish.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr. Zhang\u2019s years-long struggle is the subject of \u201cThe Warriors of Qiugang,\u201d which has been nominated for best short documentary film at Sunday\u2019s Academy Awards. (See the trailer. Or click here to watch the entire documentary.) Filmmakers Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon followed Mr. Zhang and his fellow villagers with a camera for three years beginning in 2007, as they faced threats and intimidation from the factory owners and local government officials. The factory was eventually dismantled and moved to an industrial park several kilometers away.<\/p>\n

The documentary portrays the difficulty of organizing a legal battle against big business. \u201cI feel scared. I really don\u2019t want to be a hero,\u201d Mr. Zhang says in the movie. \u201cBut the next generation will suffer. We risk our lives for their happiness.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n