A traditional pavilion is seen amid a smog in Beijing’s Houhai area, China December 29, 2017. Photo by Reuters/Jason Lee The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said officials in the provinces of Jiangxi and Henan, sought to reduce emissions readings by spraying water on their air quality sensors. China has punished officials in the provinces of Jiangxi and Henan for tampering with pollution monitoring equipment in order to reduce smog readings, the environment ministry said in a notice on Sunday. China has been waging a “war on pollution” since 2014 in a bid to reverse the environmental and political damage done by more than three decades of untrammelled economic growth, but enforcement has been a constant problem. The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said officials in the cities of Xinyu in Jiangxi and Xinyang in Henan, sought to reduce emissions readings by spraying water on their air quality sensors. Both cities are major producers of polluting and energy-intensive nonferrous metals like aluminium and copper. The two local governments said the officials responsible were dismissed or subjected to “administrative” punishments. “Regardless of whether they deny deliberately tampering and whether or not it has an obvious impact on emissions data, spraying water on air quality monitoring sampling points… disrupts the normal operations of air quality monitoring,” the ministry said on Sunday. The MEP has tried to establish a real-time nationwide emissions monitoring system to help fight against pollution and ensure its rules are being enforced throughout the country. But it has also… [Read full story]
Hanoi plans to set up five inspection teams to monitor the progress of its sidewalk cleanup following reports that ward officials have allowed the streets to be reclaimed by vendors. Mayor Hoang Trung Hai announced the decision at a National Assembly meeting on Tuesday. In some areas, urban order and the sidewalks are not being protected strongly enough, Hai said. As a result, the city will set up five inspection units to prevent people from encroaching on the sidewalks and take disciplinary action against ward officials that allow it to happen. “If a district or ward allows disorder to return…... [read more]
Mayor Hoang Trung Hai announced the decision at a recent National Assembly meeting.In some areas, urban order and the sidewalks are not being protected strongly enough, Hai said. As a result, the city will set up five inspection units to prevent people from encroaching on the sidewalks and take disciplinary action against ward officials that allow it to happen.“If a district or ward allows disorder to return to its streets, its leaders will be punished,” Hai said.Official data shows that during the first days of the sidewalk cleanup campaign, 22,700 officials were tasked with enforcing the ban and over 110,000…... [read more]
China has stepped up monitoring for bird flu in the remote northwestern province of Qinghai, state media said on Wednesday, as the WHO said it remained concerned and that now was not the time to be complacent. Health authorities have tightened controls in Yushu county, about 500 miles from the provincial capital Xining, where an outbreak of the H5N1 strain among wild birds was reported last week, Xinhua news agency said. Qinghai has become a major focus for scientists studying mutations of the H5N1 virus. A year ago, scientists believe a mutated form of the virus killed thousands of wild…... [read more]
Local officials in Quang Nam central province who allow deforestation to occur freely in the future will face heavy punishments from the province, said the provincial chairman. "The province will strictly penalize the leaders of any district or locality who fail to ward off illegal forest clearance," said Nguyen Xuan Phuc, chairman of the Quang Nam People's Committee in a seminar Dec. 16. Mr. Phuc acknowledged that deforestation in the central province was a major environmental problem and that the punishments would help improve the situation. He also demanded the provincial forest management industry cooperate with police to crack down…... [read more]
Hanoi district authorities criticised and punished around 20 officials for violations related to construction management in 2011, said the municipal People’s Committee. A violation case on Ba Trieu Street According to the committee, they were mainly secretaries, chairmen and construction inspectors of wards and communes. A meeting was held on June 26 in Hanoi on urban construction management. At the meeting, many district representatives said construction violations have become a controversial issue, particularly the fact that many officials have supported violators, including those in Hai Ba Trung, Ba Dinh, Tay Ho, Hoan Kiem and Soc Son districts. Statistics from the…... [read more]
