(February 5, 2007) Sand-dredging and river pollution are threatening the very existence of white fin in the Yangtze River.
Quenching China’s thirst
( February 2, 2007) On January 3, 2007, the level of the Yangtze River was seen to plummet at the point where it passes through the city of Shashi, in central China’s Hubei province, two metres below the average for this time of year.
Renegotiating the odious debt doctrine
(February 1, 2007) Following the United States’ invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq,1 the U.S. government argued that the successor government in Iraq was not responsible for Iraq’s Saddam-era debt under the purported doctrine of odiousregime debt. This purported doctrine apparently excused—by operation of law—all successor regimes from repaying debts that were incurred by oppressive predecessor regimes.
Green watchdog targets hidden polluters
(February 1, 2007) China’s top environmental watchdog yesterday vowed to expand the tough green measures to more industries and regions to ensure that approvals for projects found wanting are suspended.
Reconstructing the odious debt exception
(January 31, 2007) Sovereign debts are persistent – as financial obligations of a sovereign state, these debts survive the regime which contracted for them and bind future governments until the creditors are satisfied.
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.
Raise environment watchdog to ministerial level: academics
(January 29, 2007) A group of academics has called for more power to be given to the State Environmental Protection Administration (Sepa) and for the creation of a new energy ministry, as the mainland tries to tackle the consequences of rapid development.
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.
China gets trade route instead of dams on the Mekong River
(January 29, 2007) A month ago, two small river tankers each carrying about 1,000 barrels of refined oil pulled into a Mekong River port in China’s southwestern Yunnan province after a voyage from Thailand’s northern Chiang Rai province.
China’s second largest lake at risk of environmental decay
(January 27, 2007) On the shores of Hunan Province’s Dongting Lake — the second largest freshwater lake in China — lies the village of Qingshanyuan. As all too commonly found in rapidly developing China, industrial plants surround the lake discharging wastewater and emitting toxic gases into the air, regardless of the environmental consequences.
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.
Scholars convene at top US law school for first-ever conference on odious debt law and economics
(January 24, 2007) Hosted by the journal of Law & Contemporary Problems, in conjunction with the Center for International and Comparative Law, the Global Capital Markets Center and Duke Law School, the Odious Debts and State Corruption symposium will feature a series of interactive roundtable discussions involving 25 leading international scholars and practitioners.
The ‘special interests’ destroying China’s environment
(January 24, 2007) The political will exists to combat China’s pollution, but collusion between business and local governments remains a major obstacle. In a new column for chinadialogue, Jianqiang Liu asks: who is really harming the country’s interests?
At the centre of China’s environmental storm: Interview with ‘Hurricane Pan’
(January 23, 2007) The second-in-command at China’s state environmental agency talks frankly about SEPA’s latest bid to rein in ‘special interest groups’ and local officials behind the frenzied expansion of polluting and energy-intensive industries.
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