Viewpoint
02.24.23
Touting ‘Ethnic Fusion,’ China’s New Top Official for Minority Affairs Envisions a Country Free of Cultural Difference
Pan’s election to the Central Committee suggests that the Xi administration’s hard turn toward assimilationism will likely continue and perhaps intensify. Pan is the second Han official in a row to head the Ethnic Affairs Commission, which for...
Environment
10.03.18
The Anti-Corruption Campaign Takes on the War on Pollution
At last year’s 19th Party Congress, Xi Jinping vowed to confront the “principal contradiction” facing Chinese society: “the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life.” While the...
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01.04.17China’s Largest Freshwater Lake Is Shrinking
Huffington Post
China’s largest freshwater lake is under serious threat, and it seems no one can agree on how to save it. Poyang Lake can swell to over 1,700 square miles, an area larger than Rhode Island. But photographs released by China’s state-run Xinhua News...
Caixin Media
06.24.16
China Has a Plan to Clean Up Its Soil But No Way to Pay For It
The 231-clause, 13,000-Chinese character action plan for Soil Pollution Prevention and Control was released May 31 by the State Council, China’s cabinet, after undergoing some 50 draft revisions over the previous three years.The final version was...
Environment
05.19.16
Clear as Mud: How Poor Data is Thwarting Water Clean-Up
from chinadialogue
China’s central and local governments have barely made a start in trying to clean up the country’s heavily polluted water, despite fast-approaching deadlines for improvements and the launch of a comprehensive “ten point plan” over a year ago.Behind...
Environment
08.05.15
High-Ranking Retired Environmental Protection Official Mired in Corruption Probe
from chinadialogue
Retired Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) Vice Minister Zhang Lijun has run afoul of the ongoing corruption crackdown, becoming the highest-ranking environmental official yet to be investigated.On Thursday, China’s anti-corruption watchdog...
Environment
02.11.15
China’s New Environment Minister Has Work Cut Out For Him
from chinadialogue
The elevation of the president of China's most prestigious university to the job of government minister was unexpected. It is rare to bring in an academic without a goverment background. But given the tarnished reputation of a ministry that is...
Environment
11.11.14
China Reforms National Parks to Improve Environmental Protection
from chinadialogue
China’s central government is reforming the way major tourist attractions are run. It plans to create a unified national parks management system in a bid to halt environmental damage within its protected areas. The new, unified system will cut...
Environment
11.07.14China’s EIA Industry Rife with Fraud
from chinadialogue
A farce played out at an environmental impact assessment (EIA) firm in the southern city of Shenzhen when inspectors called round in early October, this year.The firm had applied to renew its license to carry out EIAs—reports that are supposed to...
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03.04.14China Must Reduce ‘Unbearable’ Smog, Government Adviser Says
Bloomberg
China's air pollution has reached intolerable levels and the country should aggressively cut its reliance on coal, according to the government’s climate-change adviser.
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03.26.13As Pollution Worsens In China, Solutions Succumb To Infighting
New York Times
As some officials push for tighter restrictions on pollutants, SOEs have been putting profits ahead of health in working to outflank new rules, according to government data and interviews with people involved in policy negotiations.
Environment
03.22.13
Public Fury After Chinese Environment Minister Keeps Job
from chinadialogue
In his eight years as China’s environmental protection minister, Zhou Shengxian has failed to keep almost a single promise. I say “almost”: he has kept his word at least when it comes to his own career—as promised, he has not quit.When the new...
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02.28.13Pollution Data A ‘State Secret?’ State Media Cry Foul
Wall Street Journal
This marks the second time in less than two months that state media have come out swinging against the government over environmental issues.
Conversation
02.27.13
How Long Can China Keep Pollution Data a State Secret?
Elizabeth Economy:The environment is center stage once again in China. A Chinese lawyer has requested the findings of a national survey on soil pollution from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and been denied on the grounds that the...
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01.15.13China Pledges to Curb Auto Emissions, Reduce Air Pollution
Los Angeles Times
The Ministry of Environmental Protection pledged to cut vehicle emissions, the source of about a quarter of China's air pollution, but didn't explain implementation plans.