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Special> UN Climate Change Conference 2014> Beijing Review Exclusive
UPDATED: July 26, 2013 NO. 30 JULY 25, 2013
Getting Tough on Polluters
Nation tries to curb pollution by imposing harsher penalties
By Yin Pumin
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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Lan Qunfeng, a former environmental official in Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail on July 16. Twelve other people were also sentenced to jail for contaminating a river with heavy metals last year (ZHOU HUA)

Pollution in a river in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has caused a stir. Fengkai County authorities in neighboring Guangdong Province reported thallium and cadmium contamination in the Hejiang River on July 6. Fengkai is downstream from Guangxi's Hezhou City. Dead fish has been seen floating in the river since July 1. Authorities prohibited about 30,000 Fengkai residents from using river water for three weeks, and tens of millions more in the Pearl River Delta were put on alert.

An initial investigation found mining firm Huiwei Ore Processing Co. had discharged contaminated water into the upper reaches of the river, local police revealed on July 8.

Police found that the mining complex, which passed an environmental assessment in February 2008, had been illegally extracting indium, a rare metal used in alloys, electronics and electroplating. The thallium and cadmium effluents were byproducts of indium extraction.

Huiwei company's head was taken into police custody for further investigation. Five local officials were also suspended from their posts for failing to prevent the contamination.

Hezhou Mayor Bai Xi said in a written apology released on July 9 that loopholes in his government's environmental protection led to the river contamination.

The Huiwei incident is only the most recent of a string of pollution scandals caused by illegal discharges by companies and poor management by local authorities. Their frequency stems from loose environmental protection laws and meager punishments for companies that violate, said Zhang Quan, Director of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau.

"Companies are knowingly discharging pollutants on land and in water," Zhang said during a local radio program. "Those responsible for such crimes should be severely punished by law, but in reality, the cost of breaking the law is quite low."

The comments came after Shanghai Tengfei Trade Co. was found guilty of dumping waste oil into the Dianpu River in Shanghai's Qingpu District in April, which caused major environmental pollution problems and cost authorities some 380,000 yuan ($62,000) to clean up.

Despite the company's general manager receiving a year in jail and a 100,000-yuan ($16,000) fine for his responsibility in the crime, the company was not penalized. District prosecutors suggested industry and commerce authorities sue the company 50,000 yuan ($8,000) over the incident—still a small sum for the heavy damage.

Harsher punishments

On July 8, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) published the latest results of investigations into environmental pollution. It said that police have made enormous strides in prosecuting and punishing violators. Police have finished 112 environmental pollution investigations since January, the ministry said.

in May eight suspects from ore processing plants in southwest China's Yunnan Province have been arrested for allegedly discharging toxic wastewater and tailings into a local river. Police investigated the case after local media outlets reported that river water had turned milky white. A police investigation confirmed that the pollution had affected nearby farm. Thirty-eight suspects from 31 electroplating workshops in north China's Hebei Province were arrested for discharging unprocessed wastewater containing acids and heavy metals into local rivers and underground waterways. Four suspects were arrested in central China's Hunan Province for dumping 480 tons of toxic wastewater into the local sewage system.

There have also been breakthroughs in investigations into other cases, the MPS said. Most cases involved mining or petrochemical factories. Some large factories discharged toxic substances directly into the environment, while others used intermediaries to illegally sell toxic waste to companies or individuals who were not qualified to process it.

Early this year, the MPS launched a nationwide campaign against environmental crimes. In an effort to address pollution, China's top judicial and procuratorial bodies issued a new judicial interpretation for laws on criminal cases related to environmental pollution on June 18.

Jointly released by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) and the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), the new document offers detailed standards for the conviction and sentencing of criminals involved in environmental cases. It took effect on June 19.

The latest interpretation lowers some benchmarks for conviction compared with a previous one released in 2006, which means more polluters will be targeted, according to SPC spokesman Sun Jungong.

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