(August 18, 2001) China announced a plan Wednesday to combat widespread pollution and leave a better environment for future generations, citing the need to stave off possible social instability.

(Excerpt)

Shanghai: China announced a plan Wednesday to combat widespread pollution and leave a better environment for future generations, citing the need to stave off possible social instability. The plan, approved by the State Council, or Cabinet, focuses on pollution controls and calls for the country to clean up heavily polluted regions and reverse degradation of water, air and land by 2010. … The government has previously responded to environmental crises largely on a piecemeal basis. The new plan appears to be a broader strategy in keeping with the government’s newly stated emphasis on seeking sustainable development after years of breakneck growth. “The government does seem to be paying more attention to broad environmental protection issues,” said Zhao Qingxiang, a professor in the Environment Department of Shanghai’s East China University of Science & Technology. “But what I’m concerned about is how this plan will affect the entire ecological system, which has a long way to go. It’s not just a matter of closing down a few factories.”

Associated Press, August 18, 2001