(January 10, 2002) ‘We will be watching closely [to see] if SEPA will really ask these plants on the list to stop production if they cannot meet the requirements or if they will only impose penalties, which actually fatten their own pockets,’ Dai Qing is quoted as saying.

Pan Yue, deputy chief of China’s State Environmental Protection Administration, unveiled a campaign yesterday in Beijing to crack down on industrial pollution, vowing to name and shame — and penalize — offenders. In covering the story, South China Morning Post reporter Josephine Ma quotes environmental journalist Dai Qing as saying the campaign is clearly a political gesture, and that it will take time to see if it can help to curb pollution. “[Dai Qing] said Mr Pan ordered some hydropower projects to stop construction early last year, but most were later given approval under pressure from the National Development and Reform Commission. ” ‘We will be watching closely [to see] if Sepa will really ask these plants on the list to stop production if they cannot meet the requirements or if they will only impose penalties, which actually fatten their own pockets,’ she said.”

South China Morning Post, January 10, 2002