Jinko apologizes for toxic waste after protests

Jinko Solar Holding (JKS.NYSE) apologized and promised to clean up pollution from its factory in Haining, a city in China’s eastern Zhejiang province, in the wake of protests last weekend, Reuters reported. Nearly 500 protesters gathered at the company’s compound and overturned cars after reports that waste from the solar panel factory killed large numbers of fish in a nearby river. “Zhejiang Jinko has always paid a great deal of attention to environmental issues and complies with and follows the state’s relevant demands,” said company spokesman Jing Zhaohui. “We cannot shirk responsibility for the legal consequences which have come from management slips.” Jing also apologized for the “improper” treatment of local reporters whose equipment was smashed as they covered the protest, saying those responsible had been fired. State media reported that one resident had been detained for “dissemination of false information” by alleging on the internet that villagers had suffered from increased cases of cancer.