(March 1, 2007) Dai Qing is a journalist-turned-environmental activist, whose family was part of the Chinese revolutionary "aristocracy." After her father was killed in battle with the Japanese in 1944, just three years after Dai’s birth, she was adopted by Ye Jianying, one of the top generals in the People’s Liberation Army. Ye also served as Defense Minister and was one of the most powerful men in China until his death in 1986.
Fog on the Nu River
(February 28, 2007) The proposed construction of a dam and hydroelectric plant on southwest China’s Nu River has sparked one of the country’s most heated environmental debates.
Aid plan for resettled residents
At least 1 million people, mostly dwellers in Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, have made way for the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric project. Now the local government is paving the way for a better life for the resettled residents, at least one out of 10 of whom are unemployed.
Yangtze drought leaves 1 mln people short of water
(February 27, 2007) Severe drought has had a debilitating effect on the Yangtze River, China’s longest waterway, over the last two weeks, leaving 1.5 million people in Chongqing Municipality with water shortages, local water authorities said on Monday.
‘Officials should be held responsible for pollution’
(February 27, 2007) A senior environmental official has called on the legislature to amend its 17-year-old environmental law in order to make government officials accountable for pollution. "The government’s refusal or failure to fulfil its environmental responsibilities has seriously set back China’s environmental protection efforts," said Pan Yue, deputy director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).
Flood, drought fears in a haywire climate
(February 23, 2007) China is on alert this year for the extremes of natural disasters. Water Resources Vice Minister E Jingping has warned local governments of the increasing possibility of floods in major rivers, and droughts elsewhere.
China boosts energy efficiency, misses goal: source
(February 12, 2007) China’s campaign to cut the amount of oil and power its galloping economy needs to keep growing notched up a modest success last year, with "energy intensity" falling sharply in the second half.
Audit finds widespread irregularities
(February 12, 2007) Government auditors have discovered 280 billion yuan (US$36 billion) in accounting "irregularities" in companies and government departments across the country. The problems were found after checking the books of more than 137,000 organizations last year, the National Audit Office said on its Website yesterday, quoting a speech by chief Li Jinhua.
Largest network for monitoring sinking land OK’d
(February 10, 2007) China’s largest network for monitoring land subsidence, or land sinking, has passed appraisal tests, the China Geological Survey, a bureau of the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources, said yesterday.
Prosperity or pollution?
(February 5, 2007) Following the release of an authoritative United Nations report that unequivocally links human activities with climate change, the rulers of the world’s most populous country are faced with the quandary of balancing prosperity against pollution.
Dolphin extinction shows river degradation
(February 5, 2007) Sand-dredging and river pollution are threatening the very existence of white fin in the Yangtze River.
China fails to make progess on environment: report
(January 30, 2007) China has failed to make any progress in protecting the environment in the past three years, state media on Monday cited an official report as saying, despite government pledges to put the issue at the top of its agenda.
China’s big dams: Are they safe?
(January 29, 2007) It goes without saying that flood control is one of the most important functions a dam project can fulfill. However, it is unrealistic to build a dam expecting it to achieve a permanent solution to a flood problem.
Chinese economic juggernaut among the last in environmental protection
(January 29, 2007) In 2006 China ranked 100th of 118 countries in terms of environmental protection, the same as three years earlier, this according to a joint report by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and mainland universities.
Company only fined for benzene slick in Songhua River
(January 26, 2007) Jilin Petrochemical, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp, was ordered to pay one million yuan (US$128,000) for polluting the Songhua River in 2005. That amount is the maximum possible fine but has never been imposed before on corporate polluters.
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