[Joint House and Senate Hearing, 110 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
THE ENVIRONMENT
=======================================================================
REPRINTED
from the
2007 ANNUAL REPORT
of the
CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
OCTOBER 10, 2007
__________
Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.cecc.gov
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CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS
House Senate
SANDER LEVIN, Michigan, Chairman BYRON DORGAN, North Dakota, Co-Chairman
MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio MAX BAUCUS, Montana
MICHAEL M. HONDA, California CARL LEVIN, Michigan
TOM UDALL, New Mexico DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California
TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas
JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania CHUCK HAGEL, Nebraska
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey MEL MARTINEZ, Florida
EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS
PAULA DOBRIANSKY, Department of State
CHRISTOPHER R. HILL, Department of State
HOWARD M. RADZELY, Department of Labor
Douglas Grob, Staff Director
Murray Scot Tanner, Deputy Staff Director
(ii)
Environment
introduction
China's leaders acknowledge the severity of their country's
environmental problems, and the Chinese government has taken
steps to curb pollution and environmental degradation. For
example, the central government has developed an expansive
framework of environmental laws and regulations to combat
environmental problems. Nonetheless, effective implementation
remains systemically hampered by noncompliance at the local
level and administrative structures that prioritize the
containment of ``social unrest'' and the generation of revenue
over environmental protection.
Just as China's environmental policies have not kept pace
with the country's severe environmental degradation, neither
have they kept pace with citizens' aspirations for, and
increasingly vigorous expression of concern over, environmental
health and human rights. During 2007, China's citizens
confronted environmental public policy with an increasing
propensity, not only to voice intense dismay with government
and industry, but also to turn to petitions and mass protests,
and to some extent to the courts, in order to pressure public
officials for greater environmental accountability,
enforcement, and protection.
Participation in environmental protests has risen in the
last two years, particularly among middle-class urban
residents. Their participation is significant because, until
recently, public protest related to environmental issues was
concentrated in rural areas and thought to be a more remote
concern for urban elites. Official responses to environment-
related activism have included crackdowns on the free flow of
information, and the suppression of citizen protest. In part
because these strategies target potential allies instead of
engaging them, further environmental degradation may require
China's leaders to confront the ways these strategies diminish
their capacity to exercise effective environmental leadership
over the long run.
environmental degradation and public frustration with official
responses
Rapid economic growth without effective environmental
safeguards has led to severe environmental degradation, with
water, air, soil, and other forms of pollution threatening
public health and quality of life. Poor soil and water
conservation practices and government inattention to polluting
industries exacerbate these problems. Many Chinese citizens
suffer from respiratory diseases, and the State Environmental
Protection Administration (SEPA) estimated that there are
approximately 358,000 premature deaths each year due to air
pollution.\1\ Acid rain affects about one-third of the
country.\2\ Deforestation and erosion leading to loss of arable
land, landslides, and sedimentation of waterways are
widespread.\3\ Water pollution and poor conservation practices
have led to water shortages in many areas, leaving millions in
urban areas, and one-third of the rural population without
access to clean drinking water.\4\
The Chinese government acknowledges the severity of China's
environmental problems. The State Council's White Paper on
``Environmental Protection (1996-2005),'' issued in June 2006,
notes that ``the contradiction between economic growth and
environmental protection is particularly prominent'' as the
``relative shortage of resources, a fragile ecological
environment, and insufficient environmental capacity are
becoming critical problems hindering China's development.'' \5\
Senior government officials also acknowledge the public protest
that severe environmental degradation could prompt.\6\ A U.S.
expert has observed that environmental degradation and
pollution ``constrain economic growth, contribute to large-
scale migration, harm public health, and engender social
unrest.'' \7\ According to official Chinese estimates,
environmental degradation and pollution cost China an estimated
8 to 12 percent of annual gross domestic product (GDP), and the
number of mass protests over pollution has increased by 29
percent per year in recent years.\8\
China has taken steps to curb pollution and environmental
degradation. In both its 10th (2001-2005) and 11th (2006-2010)
Five-Year Plans, the government formulated or revised
environmental protection laws, administrative regulations, and
standards, and has worked to strengthen enforcement of anti-
pollution rules.\9\ In addition, SEPA and the Ministry of
Health (MOH) are working together to facilitate the sharing of
information resources, and to develop a national action plan
and implementation measures on environmental health.\10\ As
described below, for some incidents that have captured public
attention, central and local governments have imposed
administrative penalties on polluters and public officials
responsible for enforcement failures.
Nonetheless, although the central government has issued
numerous environmental laws and programs, effective
implementation has been beset by problems that are fundamental
and widespread. Local environmental protection bureaus (EPBs)
depend on local governments for resources and funding, and
submit to political control by local Party Committees. In part
because local governments (and some officials) derive income
from local enterprises, some local EPBs receive pressure to
engage in weak or selective enforcement. Even without such
pressure, officials in underfunded EPBs have incentives to
permit polluting enterprises to continue operating in order to
preserve revenue used to finance their bureau's operating
deficits. Shortages of well-trained environmental personnel,
loopholes in the law, and weak interagency coordination
contribute to an incentive structure that favors economic
growth over the rigorous implementation and enforcement of
environmental protection measures.\11\
China's serious air, water, and soil pollution problems
have emerged in recent years as one of the country's most
rapidly growing sources of citizen activism. For example,
SEPA's Minister Zhou Shengxian stated in July 2007 that the
number of citizen petitions received by SEPA in the first five
months of 2007 grew by 8 percent over the same period in 2006.
Moreover, the number of pollution-related ``mass incidents''
(China's official term for protests)
increased during a year when officials claimed that overall
mass incidents decreased significantly.\12\ These numbers
reflect, in part, Chinese citizens' willingness, prompted by
rapidly rising frustration with the government's failure to
rein in environmental degradation, to stand up for the
environment, and for their rights.\13\
In its 2006 Annual Report, the Commission reported that
central government officials delayed some of the proposed
hydroelectric dams on the Nujiang (Nu River) in response to
environmental concerns from civil society groups.\14\ As of
February 2007, some villagers have already been resettled in
advance of the Liuku dam, one of four approved dams, and there
have been concerns over inadequate relocation compensation.\15\
Local residents around the site of the proposed Lushui dam,
which has not been approved, have observed laborers engaging in
survey work on the dam. Other villagers have limited knowledge
of the proposed dams being built in their vicinity.\16\ This
continued lack of transparency limits public involvement and
violates the government's own environmental protection laws and
policies.\17\
In a nationwide campaign that inspected 720,000 enterprises
in 2006, the government reported that 3,176 polluting
enterprises had been closed, and SEPA reported 161 pollution
accidents in 2006.\18\ Administrative litigation and
administrative reconsideration remain avenues for environmental
dispute resolution and private enforcement, but attention in
2006-2007 turned to a rise in the form of ``high-impact''
litigation, particularly in cases involving compensation for
the health impacts of environmental pollution. Although the
government prevails in the majority of cases, experts have
noted that high-impact cases often prompt an official response,
typically in the form of new administrative rules and Party
directives, even when plaintiffs lose.\19\
Promotion of rural officials for a long time has been tied
to their record of containing social protest. For example,
``(L)ocal officials will only be promoted to more senior
positions if they can minimize social unrest in the
countryside,'' according to a senior Party official.\20\ These
officials choose either to confront the underlying
environmental problem or to suppress activists.\21\ Previously,
experts have noted that rural residents tended more frequently
than urban residents to engage in ``large-scale'' protests over
environmental issues.\22\ Events in 2007, however, suggest that
this impression may now be outdated, as the urban middle class'
supposed preference for non-confrontational approaches gave way
to a rise in urban environmental activism. Mass protests in
Xiamen over the construction of a chemical plant in June 2007
and protests shortly thereafter in Beijing over the building of
a garbage incineration power project signal some of the first
large-scale protests in urban areas by middle-class citizens
over environmental pollution. These protests are significant
because they suggest that middle-class urban residents regard
alternative methods for pollution prevention and health
preservation as inadequate.
Chinese citizens concerned with environmental issues are
increasingly organized. There are now an estimated 4,000
registered and unregistered environmental nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) nationwide.\23\ In recent years, these
NGOs have broadened their focus beyond initial efforts at
public education and awareness to assisting pollution victims
in pursuing redress through the legal system, and mobilizing
public participation in and support for environmental
protection.\24\ SEPA has sought public support for and
participation in environmental protection work and has, to a
limited extent, encouraged and supported environmental NGO
activism. In 2005, SEPA held a public hearing to encourage
citizen
interest and NGO activism,\25\ and in February 2006, it
released two provisional measures on public participation in
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures. These
measures are the first to contain specific arrangements and
procedures for public involvement in environmental issues.\26\
Since the release of the provisional measures, approximately 43
projects with a value of 160 billion yuan (US$20.5 billion) in
investments have been halted for violating EIA procedures.\27\
In an effort to increase transparency, SEPA issued a
regulation in April 2007 on environmental information
disclosure, coinciding with the State Council's issuance of the
Regulation on the Public Disclosure of Government Information.
[See Section II--Freedom of Expression.] The SEPA regulation
lists 17 categories of government information that should be
made public either through government Web sites, local
newspapers, or upon request. Firms may voluntarily disclosure
information in nine categories and are obligated to disclose
information when they violate standards or cause an
accident.\28\
In spite of this apparent support for limited citizen
activism by SEPA, official efforts to increase control over
environmental civil society groups during the past two years
have had a chilling effect on citizen activism. During 2006-
2007, the Commission has observed numerous official actions to
repress citizen activism and organizers that work on
environmental or environmental health issues:
Fu Xiancai, who has protested forced
resettlement of citizens during the construction of the
Three Gorges Dam project, gave an interview with a
German television station in May 2006. A public
security official interrogated Fu about the interview
in June 2006, and shortly thereafter an unidentified
assailant attacked Fu. The attack left Fu paralyzed
from the shoulders down.\29\ The official investigation
into the assault concluded in August 2006 that Fu's
injuries were self-inflicted.\30\
Environmental activist Tan Kai was detained in
October 2005 for his involvement in the environmental
group ``Green Watch'' and was tried in May 2006 on
charges of illegally obtaining state secrets. In August
2006, Tan was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment and
was reportedly released in April 2007.\31\
After activist Sun Xiaodi was awarded the
Nuclear-Free Future Award in December 2006, officials
have intensified their harassment efforts. Sun has
spent more than a decade petitioning central
authorities over radioactive contamination from the No.
792 Uranium Mine in the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture in Gansu province. Sun has protested illegal
mining allegedly carried out by local officials that
has resulted in an unusually high rate of cancer and
other health problems for residents in the area. In
February 2007, Sun traveled to Beijing to seek further
medical consultation and treatment of a tumor in his
abdominal cavity.\32\ In July 2007, the State
Security Bureau in Beijing reportedly ordered Sun to
leave Beijing.\33\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Case: Human Rights Abuses and Intolerance of Environmental Activism
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Background
Wu Lihong, a 39-year old sound-proofing equipment salesman turned
environmental activist, has spent the past 17 years documenting the
pollution in Taihu (Lake Tai) in his hometown of Yixing city, Zhoutie
township, Jiangsu province, in the hopes of pressuring local officials
and factories to stop the pollution and clean up the lake.\34\ Wu
notes, ``My wish is that the lake will return to the lake of my
childhood, when the water was safe and we could go swimming in it
without fear.'' \35\ Wu collects physical evidence of pollution in Lake
Tai, such as bottles of dirty water illegally discharged from chemical
enterprises around the area and the local officials whose complicity
exacerbate the situation, and submits this evidence to provincial- and
central-level officials through the xinfang (petitioning) system.\36\
In interviews with foreign media in 2006 and early 2007, Wu remarked
that ``It is shameful that we can't drink from the lake. The chemical
factories and local government officials should be blamed. I want them
to admit their responsibility so we will have clean drinking water
again. . . . The corruption is severe. Some local officials are only
after profits so they will do anything to protect their interests, even
if it means flouting environmental standards and allowing polluting
factories to operate.'' \37\ His strategy of bypassing local officials
and filing petitions with provincial- and central-level officials
seemed to have worked in part: more than 200 polluting factories have
been closed since the mid-1990s. Local officials, such as the director
of Yixing's EPB, give a different assessment, ``He is only interested
in filing reports to officials above us. If you want me to commend him
. . . sorry, I can only say I will not do that.'' \38\
Due to his environmental advocacy efforts, local government officials
have repeatedly harassed Wu and his family members, even though a panel
of judges from the People's Political Consultative Conference and the
National People's Congress named him one of China's top 10
environmentalists in November 2005.\39\ According to foreign media
interviews with him and his wife, Xu Jiehua, Wu lost his job after his
manager was warned by local officials to fire him and in 2003, he was
beaten on three occasions by local thugs. In addition, his daughter
reportedly received threats over the phone from anonymous callers, and
his wife lost her job in 1998, after the chemical factory where she was
employed closed in response to one of his reports.\40\
Official Mistreatment in 2007
April 13, 2007: Shortly before Wu planned to provide central officials
in Beijing with new evidence against local officials, Yixing public
security officials detained Wu, accusing him of blackmail and
extortion.\41\ Officials at the Yixing Detention Center restricted his
ability to see his lawyer or family, and his lawyer reported evidence
of torture when she met with him a month later.\42\
May to June 2007: Outbreaks of green-blue algae in Lake Tai left
millions of residents in a rush to purchase bottled water. The central
government's main news agency, Xinhua, largely attributed the outbreaks
to pollution.\43\ In June, Premier Wen Jiabao ordered a formal
investigation into the algae growth, noting that despite numerous
attempts to improve the quality of the water, ``the problem has never
been tackled at the root.'' \44\ State-controlled media and experts
criticized local officials for blaming the problem on natural
conditions, such as a warm climate, and for not taking effective steps
to control pollution in Lake Tai.\45\
June 2007: The Yixing People's Court charged Wu with blackmail and
allegedly extorting 55,000 yuan (US$6,875) from enterprises in exchange
for not exposing them as polluters.\46\ Wu's original trial date was
scheduled for June 12, but was postponed to allow a medical
investigation of his wounds in response to a complaint filed by his
lawyer.\47\
August 10, 2007: The Yixing People's Court sentenced Wu to three years'
imprisonment for fraud and extortion, and ruled that there was no
evidence of torture.\48\ Wu was also fined 3,000 yuan (approximately
US$400) and ordered to return the money he allegedly extorted from
enterprises.\49\ Xu Jiehua has taken on her husband's cause by suing
SEPA for naming Yixing a model city. The Yixing People's Court
reportedly refused to consider the case.\50\
A System of Policy Implementation That Relies on the Abuse of Rights
Even though national leaders have publicly called on China's citizens to
report misbehavior by members of the Communist Party, Wu Lihong's
detention and imprisonment underscore the problem that activists are
not afforded adequate whistleblower protections, but instead are
singled out for harassment, and left vulnerable to revenge by the
officials whose malfeasances they bring to light.\51\ Effective
implementation of China's announced commitment to environmental
protection requires information, private initiative, and citizen
leadership.\52\ Wu's imprisonment illustrates the extent to which
China's leaders have structured political and legal affairs in ways
that impose risks on citizen activists.
According to Xinhua, the central government demanded that officials
close several hundred factories near Lake Tai in June 2007. Officials
also required 20,000 chemical plants in the Lake Tai area to meet
tougher standards for sulfur dioxide emissions and water pollution.
Plants that fail to meet the new standards by the June 2008 deadline
risk suspension or closure. In addition, cities around Lake Tai must
establish sewage treatment plants and can no longer discharge untreated
sewage into the lake and rivers in the area. Existing plants must
install nitrogen and phosphorus removal facilities before the deadline.
In July 2007, senior provincial officials in Jiangsu instructed local
officials to make combating pollution in Lake Tai a priority, even if
it meant a 15 percent decrease in the province's GDP.\53\ At the time
of this writing, Wu Lihong remains in prison.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
challenges of building bureaucratic capacity and overcoming
obstructionism
Local EPBs are frequently unable or unwilling to carry out
many of the numerous environmental laws and regulations passed
by the central government. Strengthening local level EPB
funding and enforcement capacity has been a significant
challenge. Some local EPB offices rely upon income from fines
to fund operating budget deficits, which in turn provides
incentives for lax enforcement of environmental measures.\54\
China continues to delay publication of its 2005 Green GDP
report due to bureaucratic wrangling and pressure from local
governments. The report has already been drafted but has now
been ``indefinitely postponed.'' The report's release would
have symbolized growing environmental transparency as it would
have provided the public and Chinese and international NGOs
more
detailed information than the first Green GDP report in 2004.
The 2004 report sparked controversy by estimating that China's
economic losses from environmental degradation amounted to
511.8 billion yuan (US$67.7 billion), or approximately 3.1
percent of China's entire GDP.\55\ Local governments reportedly
opposed the
report's publication because it contained detailed data on
environmental performance and conditions broken down by
province.\56\ SEPA and the National Bureau of Statistics also
reportedly disagreed over what information to include and how
to disseminate that information.\57\
The Chinese government reportedly pressured the World Bank
to remove material from a joint report, including the figure
that some 750,000 people die prematurely in China each year due
to air and water pollution.\58\ China's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs has denied this charge.\59\ Several news accounts
reported, however, that the Chinese government impugned the
report's methodology, calling it ``not very reliable,'' and
voiced concern that it might spark citizen protest if
released.\60\ SEPA's Vice Minister Zhou Jian noted that ``It's
a very complex issue to analyze the impact of pollution on
human health. Without a common scientific methodology in the
world, any survey on environment and health is not
persuasive.'' \61\
In 2007, China finally issued punishments to those found
responsible for the November 2005 Songhua River benzene spill
that threatened the Chinese city of Harbin and the Russian city
of Khabarovsk. As the Commission noted in its 2006 Annual
Report, the coverup of the Songhua spill demonstrated a lack of
transparency which, in turn, hampered the government's ability
to respond to the environmental disaster. In its aftermath,
despite steps to improve local reporting to higher authorities,
the central government did not address the larger issue of
government control over the news media [see Section II--Freedom
of Expression]. In
November 2006, the State Council supported administrative
punishments and Party disciplinary punishments, but no criminal
prosecutions, for 14 state-owned company and local government
officials involved in the Songhua incident.\62\ SEPA imposed
the maximum fine on the state-owned Jilin Petrochemical Company
as administrative punishment for its role in the incident.\63\
Some Chinese experts assert that SEPA's maximum fines are still
too low to act as an effective deterrent.\64\ A recent draft
revision of the Water Pollution and Control Law may strengthen
and increase punishments for unlawful conduct.\65\
Endnotes
\1\ Simon Elegant, ``Barely Breathing,'' Time Magazine (Online), 12
December 06.
\2\ ``China To Build Wind Farms Offshore,'' China Daily (Online),
16 May 05.
\3\ ``Reckless Human Activity Blamed for Frequent Mountain
Torrents,'' Xinhua (Online), 23 June 05; ``World Research Group on
Erosion Founded in China,'' People's Daily (Online), 20 October 04.
\4\ ``Growth Leaves Country High and Dry,'' China Daily (Online),
28 December 04; Ministry of Water Resources (Online), ``Thirsty
Countryside Demands Safe Water,'' 23 March 05.
\5\ State Council Information Office, White Paper on Environmental
Protection in China (1996-2005), People's Daily (Online), 5 June 06.
\6\ ``Analysis: Stability Concerns Drive China's Environmental
Initiatives,'' Open Source Center, 28 June 06; Ching-Ching Ni, ``China
Toughens Stance on Environmental Protection,'' Los Angeles Times
(Online), 22 February 06.
\7\ Elizabeth C. Economy, The River Runs Black: The Environmental
Challenge to China's Future (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University
Press, 2004), 24.
\8\ Ibid., 25; `` `Mass Incidents' on Rise as Environment
Deteriorates,'' Xinhua (Online), 5 July 07.
\9\ State Council Information Office, White Paper on Environmental
Protection in China (1996-2005); Andrew Baston, ``China Takes on
Pollution,'' Wall Street Journal, 6 June 06, A8.
\10\ ``SEPA and the Ministry of Health Will Draw Up Standards of
Environmental Damage Caused Health,'' Environment Public Information
Network Center, reprinted in All-China Environment Federation (Online),
7 October 06.
\11\ Ching-Ching Ni, ``China Toughens Stance on Environmental
Protection;'' Deng Weihua, Lin Wei, and Li Zebing, ``A Strange Circle
of Pollution-Control-the Worse the Pollution, the Wealthier the
Environmental Protection Bureaus'' [Zhiwu guaiquan: wuran yue zhong
huanbao bumen yue fu], Legal Daily (Online), 12 July 05; Elizabeth C.
Economy, The River Runs Black,'' 20-21.
\12\ `` `Mass Incidents' on Rise as Environment Deteriorates,''
Xinhua.
\13\ Jonathan Watts, ``China Blames Growing Social Unrest on Anger
over Pollution,'' The Guardian (Online), 6 July 07; `` `Mass Incidents'
on Rise as Environment Deteriorates,'' Xinhua.
\14\ CECC, 2006 Annual Report, 20 September 06, 103.
\15\ Wang Yongchen, ``Nu River News,'' Three Gorges Probe (Online),
6 March 07.
\16\ Wang Yongchen, ``Nu River News;'' Jianqiang Liu, ``Fog on the
Nu River,'' China Dialogue (Online), 28 February 07. In February 2004,
the government responded to citizen environmental concerns and agreed
to suspend all 13 proposed hydroelectric dam projects on the Nujiang
(Nu River) in Yunnan province, pending further review. In 2005, Chinese
officials reversed this decision after a closed internal review of the
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, said that four of the
proposed dams would be built, and banned further domestic news media
coverage of the topic. In September 2005, environmental activists
posted an open letter to the State Council on the Internet, pointing
out violations of the EIA law and demanding that officials organize a
public hearing on the dam project. Yunnan provincial authorities
subsequently released the government's order approving the EIA report,
after refusing to do so for two years. In April 2006, Chinese activists
reported signs of survey work near the proposed dams being covered up
before a visit by a UNESCO-ICUN inspection team to investigate the
potential impacts of building a dam in the Three Parallel Rivers
National Park, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. Wang Yongchen,
``Nu River News;'' CECC, 2006 Annual Report, 107.
\17\ ``Call for Public Disclosure of Nujiang Hydropower
Development's EIA Report in Accordance with the Law,'' Three Gorges
Probe News Service (Online), 6 September 05; Jim Yardley, ``Seeking a
Public Voice on China's `Angry River,' '' New York Times (Online), 26
December 05.
\18\ ``New Rules to Curb `Rampant' Violations of Pollution Laws,''
Xinhua (Online), 12 July 07.
\19\ Experts have noted the significance of high impact litigation,
in which even if the plaintiffs loses the case, it still may spur
public officials to act, such as by issuing regulations. CECC Staff
Interview; Xu Kezhu and Alex Wang, ``Recent Developments at the Center
for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims (CLAPV),'' Woodrow Wilson
Center for International Scholars, 8 China Environment Series 103, 104
(2006).
\20\ ``Containing Social Unrest Key to Chinese Officials' Promotion
Prospects,'' China Elections and Governance Web site (Online), 9 July
07.
\21\ Ibid.
\22\ ``China's Environmental Degradation Creating Social Time-
Bomb,'' China Corporate Social Responsibility (Online), 1 August 07;
Guobin Yan, ``Of Revolution and Reform: Two Faces of Environmental
Activism in China,'' presented at the Association for Asian Studies
Conference, April 2006.
\23\ CECC Staff Interview.
\24\ CECC, 2005 Annual Report, 11 October 05, 75.
\25\ Ibid.
\26\ The measures allow a limited role for the public in the EIA
process through attendance at symposiums or public hearings, answering
questionnaires, and consulting experts. In July 2006, a SEPA official
announced that public hearings may be held on important, complex, or
difficult environmental matters. ``Public Can Help Environment,'' China
Daily (Online), 27 February 06; ``SEPA Chief: Emergency Environmental
Incidents Can Be Directly Reported to the State Bureau For Letters and
Calls'' [Huanbao zongju: tufa zhongda huanjing shixiang ke zhi bao
guojia xinfang ju], People's Daily (Online), 6 July 06; ``SEPA Issues
New Measures on Environmental Letters and Petitions'' [Huanbao zongju
fabu shishi xin de huanjing xinfang banfa], Legal Daily (Online), 6
July 06.
\27\ Among the blocked projects, 31 were later granted approval
after they carried out the proper consultation with the public. ``SEPA
Blocks 12 Industrial Projects for Lack of Public Support,'' Xinhua
(Online), 8 May 07; Ling Li, ``New Environmental Transparency Rule
Opens Opportunity for Public Participation,'' China Watch (Online), 3
May 07.
\28\ These regulations will become effective on May 1, 2008.
Workshop on Information Disclosures and Environment in China, World
Bank, 5 June 07; Ling Li, ``New Environmental Transparency Rule Opens
Opportunity for Public Participation;'' ``Govt's, Firms Ordered To
Release Pollution Figures,'' Xinhua (Online), 26 April 07.
\29\ ``Three Gorges Resettlement Activist Paralyzed After
Assault,'' CECC China Human Rights and Rule of Law Update, July 2006,
10-11.
\30\ ``Officials Conclude Investigation, Increase Surveillance Over
Activist Fu Xiancai,'' CECC China Human Rights and Rule of Law Update,
September 2006, 12.
\31\ Human Rights in China (Online), ``News Update: Hangzhou
Environmentalist Tan Kai's Trial Granted Continuance,'' 22 June 06;
``Environmentalist Tan Kai Sentenced to 1.5-Year Term'' [Huanbao renshi
tan kai bei pan yi nian ban xingqi], Radio Free Asia (Online), 11
August 06; Chinese Human Rights Defenders (Online), ``Zhejiang
Environmental Activist Tan Kai Released from Prison'' [Zhejiang huanbao
renshi tan kai chuyu], 1 May 07.
\32\ Human Rights in China presented Sun Xiaodi's acceptance
message for the prestigious Nuclear-Free Future Award in Window Rock,
Arizona on December 1, 2006. His wife, who stayed in Gansu province
after Sun departed for Beijing, has continued to receive threats and
harassment from unknown individuals believed to be hired by local
officials. Human Rights in China (Online), ``Sun Xiaodi Harassed, Faces
Financial Hardship,'' 27 March 07; Human Rights in China (Online),
``Environmental Activist Sun Xiaodi Faces Stepped-up Harassment after
International Award,'' 2 January 07.
\33\ ``State Security Bureau in Beijing Orders Sun Xiaodi To Leave
Beijing'' [Beijing guoan leling sun xiaodi li jing], Radio Free Asia
(Online), 18 July 07.
\34\ Minnie Chan, ``Partner Profile: Defenders of Tai Hu,'' South
China Morning Post, reprinted in Pacific Environment (Online), 29 May
06.
\35\ Tracy Quek, ``The Man Who Wants To Save a Lake; Beijing's
Efforts To Protect the Environment Thwarted by Local Officials'
Subterfuge in their Drive for Growth,'' Straits Times (Online), 21
January 2007.
\36\ Chan, ``Partner Profile: Defenders of Tai Hu.''
\37\ Ibid.; Quek, ``The Man Who Wants To Save a Lake.''
\38\ Chan, ``Partner Profile: Defenders of Tai Hu.''
\39\ Ibid.
\40\ Ibid.
\41\ `` `Hero of Taihu' Wu Lihong Detained'' [``Taihu weishi'' wu
lihong bei daibu], Deutsche Welle (Online), 23 April 07; Andreas
Landwehr, ``Attempt To Save Polluted Chinese Lake Leads to Arrest,''
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (Online), 17 April 07; ``China Detains Green
Activist Once Hailed Hero,'' Reuters (Online), 23 April 07; Shai Oster,
``Police Hold Chinese Foe of Polluters,'' Wall Street Journal (Online),
23 April 07.
\42\ ``Jiangsu Environmental Activist Wu Lihong Beat Up in Prison''
[Jiangsu huanbao renshi wu lihong zai jianyu zhong zao duda], Radio
Free Asia (Online), 1 June 07; ``Wife of Chinese Environmental Activist
Wu Lihong Says Husband Tortured,'' Agence France-Presse, 1 June 07
(Open Source Center, 04 June 07); Wang Xiangwei, ``Editorial: Release
the Man Who First Raised the Alarm About Tai Lake's Pollution,'' South
China Morning Post (Online), 4 June 07; ``Extortion Trial for Chinese
Environmentalist Postponed, Wife and Attorney Say,'' Associated Press,
reprinted in China Post (Online), 6 June 07.
\43\ ``Premier Demands Thorough Investigation of Taihu Lake
Crisis,'' Xinhua (Online), 12 June 07; `` `Mass Incidents' on Rise as
Environment Deteriorates,'' Xinhua; Chris Buckley, ``China Algae
Outbreak Sparks Water Panic,'' Reuters (Online), 31 May 07; Christopher
Bodeen, ``China's Premier Orders Lake Algae Probe,'' Associated Press,
reprinted in the Washington Post (Online), 12 June 07.
\44\ Bodeen, ``China's Premier Orders Lake Algae Probe.''
\45\ Ibid.
\46\ `` `Eco-warrior' Wu Lihong Charged for Blackmail,'' Xinhua,
reprinted in People's Daily (Online), 6 June 07.
\47\ ``Extortion Trial for Chinese Environmentalist Postponed, Wife
and Attorney Say,'' Associated Press.
\48\ Benjamin Kang Lim, ``China Jails Environment Activist, Cuts
Dissident's Term,'' Reuters (Online), 18 August 07.
\49\ Tracy Quek, ``China Jails `Green' Hero,'' Strait Times, 12
August 07.
\50\ Lim, ``China Jails Environment Activist.''
\51\ For example, in 2002, President Hu Jintao noted that ``the
masses should play a role in supervising party officials.'' Simon
Montlake, ``Whistle-blower in China Faces Prison,'' Christian Science
Monitor (Online), 14 August 07.
\52\ For example, Zhou Jian, Vice Minister of SEPA, mentioned that
there is differing information relating to environmental health data.
Yet, he reiterated the Chinese government's promise to protect people's
health from pollution. Sun Xiaohua, ``World Bank Environment Report
`Not Very Reliable,' '' China Elections and Governance Web site
(Online), 18 July 07.
\53\ Wang Jiaquan, ``China's Economic Engine Forced To Face
Environmental Deficit,'' China Watch (Online), 26 July 07.
\54\ China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and
Development (CCICED) Task Force on Environmental Governance,
``Environmental Governance in China,'' presented at the 5th Annual
General Meeting of the CCICED, 10-12 November 06, 11-12.
\55\ Ling Li, ``China Postpones Release of Report on `Green' GDP
Accounting,'' China Watch (Online), 31 July 07; ``China's Environmental
Degradation Creating Social Time-Bomb,'' China Corporate Social
Responsibility.
\56\ Ling Li, ``China Postpones Release of Report on `Green' GDP
Accounting.''
\57\ Ibid.
\58\ Sun Xiaohua, ``World Bank Environment Report `Not Very
Reliable.' ''
\59\ ``Beijing Denies Bid To Cover Up World Bank Pollution Data,''
South China Morning Post (Online), 9 July 07.
\60\ Monica Liau, ``Chinese Government Censors World Bank Pollution
Report,'' China Watch (Online), 11 July 07; Richard McGregorin,
``Beijing Censored Pollution Report,'' Financial Times (Online), 3 July
07; Mitchell Landsberg, ``China Cancels Environment Report,'' Los
Angeles Times (Online), 24 July 07.
\61\ Sun Xiaohua, ``World Bank Environment Report `Not Very
Reliable.' ''
\62\ State Council Information Office (Online), ``The State Council
Has Handled the Jilin Explosion Incident and Songhua Water Pollution
Incident'' [Guowuyuan dui jihua baozha shigu ji songhua jiang shuiwuran
shijian zuo chuli], 24 November 06.
\63\ ``Branch Office of Jilin Petrochemical Company Fined One
Million Yuan for Songhua River Incident'' [Jilin shihua fengongsi yin
songhua jiang shuiwuran bei fakuan 100 wan], Xinhua (Online), 24
January 07.
\64\ ``Can SEPA's Maximum Fine Unsettle Enterprises' Low Cost of
Violating the Law?'' [Huanbao zuida fadan nengfou zhenshe qiye
dichengben weifa], China Youth Daily (Online), 25 January 07.
\65\ ``Draft of Revised Water Pollution Prevention Law Already
Finished'' [Shuiwuran fangzhi fa xiugai caoan yi ni chu], Legal Daily
(Online), 30 January 07; ``China Solicits Public Opinion on Draft Law
on Water Pollution,'' Xinhua (Online), 5 September 07.