Environment inspection sparks job security fears
Print Edition
DOZENS of high-level officials in Hebei are worried about their job security after the province failed a nationwide environment inspection.
The central environmental protection inspection group issued an unusually harsh report on malpractice in the province. During the inspection, 200 plants were shut down, 123 people were arrested and another 366 were held accountable.
This is the first time inspectors have been sent in the name of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, giving them unprecedented authority and power.
Inspectors spoke to and questioned at least 26 provincial-level officials, including Hebei’s governor and party chief, a clear sign that the central leadership is taking a hard line on incompetence.
After Hebei, the group will dispatch inspectors to 15 more provinces and regions.
In the past, environment inspections were often ineffectual, and their resultant measures had little deterrent effect: As soon as inspectors leave, profit-driven polluters, after a silent nod from local politicians, return to their old ways and continue to contaminate the air, water and land.
The Hebei inspection, the first of a two-year nationwide inspection program, shows that the Chinese leadership means business when it speaks of preserving the “green mountain and clean water” and building a “beautiful China.”
Since 2014, China has gone all-out to address environmental deterioration. The Environment Law, which came in force last year, allows authorities to impose unlimited fines on repeated polluters and file criminal charges.
There is significant political support for measures to improve the environment, but enforcement at the local level has long been a weak point, due to opportunistic practices and the shirking of responsibilities.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
