Petroleum and Chemical Industry

Oriental Outlook
September 12

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has suspended environmental approval for the chemical production and refinement projects by the country's two oil and gas giants—the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and the China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec)—due to their weak environmental protection performance last year.

For a long time, the rapid development of chemical production and refinement has caused serious environmental problems, which in turn has triggered social conflicts. Some cities find themselves surrounded by factories dedicated to the production and refinement of various chemicals. The problem is not only caused by the increasing numbers of chemical plants but it also stems from disordered industry layout and poor site selection practices.

According to investigations of several chemical production bases and regions in China, some local governments don't conduct proper environmental appraisals before building new facilities. In addition, local environmental protection authorities are sometimes too weak to restrain big companies, and city planners tend to put development high on their list of priorities while giving little consideration to the environment.

Curbing Cyber Defamation

Jinan Daily
September 10

China issued judicial interpretations on the enforcement of laws on the crime of defamation (libel) by spreading information on the Internet on September 9, which took effect as of September 10.

As cyber defamation differs from usual defamation in real life, it's necessary to offer special judicial interpretations on cyber defamation. The most important thing is to reach a balance between the public's right of free expression and supervision and the accurate cracking down on all kinds of cyber libel.

The judicial interpretations explain that if a person does not mean to harm anyone by spreading the information, even if the information is not correct, or false, this one should not be accused of libel. Defamation will not necessarily lead to the accusation of libel.

According to the Criminal Law, only "serious cases" will compose the crime of defamation. Then how is the "serious case" defined? Any practice that leads to the following results will be regarded as libel: "having a significant negative effect on victims or their families, such as mental illness, self-mutilation or suicide" or "their posts are viewed over 5,000 times or forwarded over 500 times."

Meanwhile, according to new judicial interpretations, there are some exceptions, including the false information causing a mass incident, disturbing public order, inciting ethnic and religious conflicts, etc.

While cyber crimes and libel must be severely punished, the public's right of expression and their right of supervision should be well protected.

Super Middle Schools

Legal Daily
September 9

In recent years, "super middle schools" have sprung up. Over the years, these schools have enrolled huge numbers of students, ranging anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000. They recruit the best students in the city and even the province they are located in. Due to their large profits and strong performances in the national college entrance examination, they are often regarded as administrative achievements by local governments.

Some "super middle schools" have actually turned into "super enterprises." They take the proportion of students entering schools of a higher grade as performance, collect school selection fees from parents as profit, and win the government's support and people's attention by expanding their size and promoting their influence. These schools have led to a series of problems.

First of all, their practice goes against the main principle of providing education for all people without discrimination. Some schools only favor top students and rich students who can afford the high selection fees. Second, some are suspected of engaging in educational monopoly. The schools dominate high-quality educational resources. This is against the principle of proper allocation of educational resources.

The Big V

China Newsweek
September 9

In 2009, the Web-portal Sina launched Weibo, a Chinese microblogging platform similar to Twitter, and provided a service that verified and stamped the accounts of users who with large numbers of followers with an official V. In Internet slang, online celebrities with numerous followers have become known as the "Big V."

The microblogging has transformed the role of China's media as well as its relationship with its audience. Every Internet user has become a potential news source. Both those already known from mainstream media and those whose popularity has grown at a grassroots-level are able to access the platform to spread information or voice their views, creating a culture of "Big V." By the end of 2012, the number of Sina Weibo accounts with over 10 million followers had exceeded 80; the number of accounts with over 1 million followers surpassed 3,600; while those with less than 1,000 stood at 400 million.

The microblogging has revealed problems in China's period of developmental transformation. On microblogging, many truths have been revealed to the public, but there are also many rumors that end up becoming widespread. The "Big V" should wield their influence with caution, and laws should be introduced to make sure that rumors are stopped in their tracks when necessary. The "Big V" and hundreds of millions of netizens should work together to create a more open, rational and tolerate online environment.