Chengdu Commercial News: Song Jian Calls For Establishment of a Public Interest Litigation System

宋健呼吁建环境公益诉讼制度
2005-10-29 6:28:52

　
四川新闻网-成都商报讯
　　（记者孙进）　首届九寨天堂国际环境论坛昨日举行主题峰会，中华环保联合会主席、两院院士宋健在演讲中说，希望我国建立环境公益诉讼制度。
　　
　　宋健说，我国环保事业虽成绩显著，但形势依然严峻。应赋予环保部门限期治理、封闭违法排污设施等更多、更有力的执法手段，提高执法效率。应继续完善对环境违法责任人的处罚制度，要处罚违法的责任人和有关领导。他还希望建立环境公益诉讼制度，任何公民、社会团体、国家机关为了社会公共利益，都应有权以自己的名义，向国家司法机关提起诉讼。
　　
　　又讯　国家环保总局规划财务司司长周建昨日透露，“十一五”期间，全社会环保投资预计达到1.3万亿元，约占同期GDP的1.6%。

SCMP.com: Violence flares in Hunan as hired thugs collect pollution surcharge

Thursday, November 3, 2005
Violence flares in Hunan as hired thugs collect pollution surcharge
MINNIE CHAN

An attempt by local officials in Hunan province to collect a pollution surcharge from small family business operators ended in a violent clash on Tuesday.

At least four people, including an 80-year-old woman, were injured during the scuffles.

Taxi driver Wang Shunlin witnessed the violence and yesterday said the four people were injured when local court staff and officials from the Qidong county Environmental Protection Bureau led more than 10 men, who appeared to be hired thugs, into the town of Baidishi at 9am to collect a 5,000 yuan clean-air fee from each business.

"They [the men] did not wear official uniforms or show any identification when they collected the fees," Mr Wang said. "They even carried the shop owners or their relatives outside when they refused to pay."

He said villagers surrounded the men's vehicles to free their relatives because they feared they would later have to pay thousands of yuan to have the detainees released.

"A woman who is more than 80 crawled under one of the cars when she realised her husband and son were being taken away," Mr Wang said.

He said the men hit and kicked the old woman when they failed to get her to come out from under the car. They finally dragged her out, but she crawled under again. "The cold-blooded men then drove over the poor granny," Mr Wang said.

He said more than 1,000 villagers surrounded the men, provoking a violent clash between the groups that ended when the men fled.

Mr Wang said the woman was taken to hospital, where she was still under observation last night.

"Local officials are just keeping quiet about it and refusing to investigate," he said, adding that officials had mobilised many jobless men as collection agents to gather the fees.

An official from the town office yesterday confirmed that local environmental protection bureau and district court enforced the compulsory collection of clean-air charges on Tuesday.

"But I don't know what happened during the action," he said.

An official from the Qidong Environmental Protection Bureau's finance department yesterday denied they had collected a 5,000 yuan clean-air fee from each family business.

"The clean-air fee depends on how much water and fuel the businesses use. We only have one or two firms which have to pay 5,000 yuan," the official said, refusing to explain what methods had been used to collect fees from villagers.

NY Times: China to Drop Urbanite-Peasant Legal Differences

November 3, 2005
China to Drop Urbanite-Peasant Legal Differences

By JOSEPH KAHN
BEIJING, Nov. 2 - China plans to abolish legal distinctions between urban residents and peasants in 11 provinces as the government tries to slow the country's surging wealth gap and reduce social unrest, state media said Wednesday.

Under an experimental program, local governments in those provinces will allow peasants to register as urban residents and to have the same rights to housing, education, medical care and social security that city dwellers have.

If carried out as advertised, the program would eliminate a cornerstone of the population control policies begun by Mao in the 1950's. The system of residence permits, known as hukou, ties every person to a locale and once made travel difficult without permission.

In practice, the system has been fading away for more than a decade. An estimated 200 million peasants have left the countryside to live in urban areas, some of them full time. Their access to urban services varies widely depending on local rules and the kind of employment they find.

In today's market-oriented economy, the once-comprehensive socialist benefits bestowed on urban residents carry far less weight. Most people rely on their own resources, or those of their employers, to pay for health care, housing and schooling.

Even so, the system of residence permits has been a fixture of social and political culture in Communist China and a prominent symbol of the government's control of daily life. Its elimination could be regarded as an advance in human rights, some specialists said.

"This is an old-style way of managing a huge country and no longer makes sense with a market economy," said Qin Hui, a historian at Qinghua University in Beijing. "If it's really going away, it is a significant turning point."

Mr. Qin said he expected that even if the system disappeared, local governments would retain administrative control over their populations. They would still set conditions on registration for urban residents and prevent the growth of slums.

"The cities will become places where the relatively well off live," he said. "Beijing is not going to look like New Delhi, or even like Bangkok."

Economic forces have eroded population controls in recent years. Shenzhen emerged from rice fields in the early 1980's to become one of China's most prosperous metropolitan areas, and nearly all of its 10 million residents were born elsewhere. Shanghai began the concept of a "blue card" for qualified migrant workers in the mid-1990's, giving them full access to housing and city services if they met criteria.

The central government declared that it intended to drop the residency permit system at the 16th Communist Party Congress in 2002, and has made incremental changes since.

An episode in 2003, when Sun Zhigang, a college-educated migrant in Guangdong Province, was beaten to death in police custody after being detained on suspicion of vagrancy, gave impetus to changing the system. His death caused nationwide outrage and led to the abolition of vagrancy laws.

"We knew it was a dead duck after they abolished the custody and repatriation system" or vagrancy law, said Nicolas Becquelin, a researcher for Human Rights in China based in Hong Kong. "The police had no power to enforce the hukou laws."

Doing away with the residency system also fits the political agenda of President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who have tried to demonstrate that they are more attentive to people left behind in China's economic boom. The market-oriented economy has produced enormous wealth but also generated major social cleavages. In the past several years, peasants and migrant workers have led an upsurge in protests over corruption, land grabs and environmental degradation.

Long term, Mr. Becquelin said, urbanization remains an enormous administrative challenge for China and one that the government is unlikely to entrust to the market.

"I think you'll see a situation where the largest cities retain very tight controls, while medium cities are a little looser and newer small cities have more freedom," he said.

The 11 major provinces involved in the latest move include Guangdong, Fujian and Liaoning. China has 23 provinces.

Articles about the change in several state-run publications suggested, though, that the Public Security Bureau, the nation's police bureaucracy, remained deeply wary of the change and may slow its progression.

Shanghai Daily: People Action Key to Pollution Control

People Action Key to Pollution Control
About one-in-five people in urban areas in China are living in severely polluted environments, according to Zhang Lijun, deputy director of the State Environmental Protection Administration.

He was speaking at an international symposium on improving air quality in Beijing last Monday.

He pointed out that despite the measures taken by the government in pollution control and environmental protection which had improved air quality in many cities, the air quality was still below average international standards and was not good enough for most people.

China is expected to undergo more profound change over the next 15 years. With population still rising and the economy continuing to develop, the lack of effective efforts to keep pollution under control could end up being disastrous to the whole society.

Alongside the usual urban pollution issues such as smog and acid rain, some new problems are also emerging.

The increase in the number of vehicles on city roads has added to the already bad air pollution situation and the growing amount of waste that has to be treated are destroying the natural eco-system of not only the cities but the surrounding countryside as well. So, immediate attention must be given to achieving sustainable development.

The campaign for the people must still be fought by the united efforts of the people.

(Shanghai Daily October 31, 2005)

The Beijing News: SEPA Expert Responds to He Zuoxiu's Doubts

环保总局专家回应何祚庥质疑
www.thebeijingnews.com ·2005年10月29日1:48· 来源：

认为用购买力平价法核算中国GDP不合国情；此前何质疑我国资源消耗数据

    本报讯（记者郭晓军）针对中科院院士何祚庥对“环保总局公布的有关我国资源消耗情况的一组数据不科学”的质疑，国家环保总局政研中心主任夏光博士前日在接受本报记者采访时指出，何祚庥院士提出的“用购买力平价法计算GDP”所得出的结论并不符合当前国情。

　　据报道，在10月22日举行的中国水电开发与环境保护高层论坛上，何祚庥在演讲时公开质疑国家环保总局公布的有关我国资源消耗情况的一组数据“不科学”。

　　被何祚庥院士称为不科学的数据是“2003年，中国消耗的原油占世界的7.4%，消耗的煤占世界的31%，消耗的水泥占世界的40%⋯⋯但中国创造的GDP却不足世界GDP总量的4%.”

　　何祚庥称，如果按照购买力平价法来核算我国的GDP，中国2003年的GDP总额应该是6.354万亿美元，居世界第二位，中国GDP占世界GDP总量应为18%弱一些，而不是4%.据此，何祚庥认为，中国的资源消耗率并不高。

　　对此，夏光分析说，按照何院士主张的用购买力平价法来核算中国的GDP，中国GDP数值仅次于美国，居世界第二位，中国单位GDP的能源消耗不仅不高，反而偏低，能源利用效率已经达到世界先进水平。“这显然不符合中国当前的国情。”夏光说，事实上，是否用购买力平价法计算GDP，在经济学界长期存在着严重争议。

The Beijing News: Beijing Lawyer Calls For Public Interest Litigation System

北京律师呼吁建公益诉讼制度
www.thebeijingnews.com ·2005年11月1日1:36· 来源：

环保局有关负责人、律师与市民网上聊环保

　　本报讯（记者 汤阳）昨日下午，北京市环保局法制处负责人和建纬律师事务所律师王霁虹、薛雯做客首都之窗“专家说法”，与市民就环境保护、噪音污染等热点问题讨论时介绍，《噪声法》北京暂行办法草案已提交市政府法制办，正在全市征求意见。

　　王霁虹说，中国现在不断有大范围的污染事件或森林砍伐事件，这需要一种机制，比如检察院可以出于公众利益的保护，或者国家利益的保护，主动启动诉讼程序，追究违法者的责任，或者环保的组织机构可否以组织机构的名义来启动这个程序。王霁虹称这为环境公益诉讼。

　　昨日，有众多市民提到了夜间施工产生的噪音污染，王霁虹表示，如果有证据能证明噪音确实对居民日常生活造成极大影响，可以通过法律手段维护自己的权益。

　　王霁虹说，其实无论项目业主的律师，还是施工企业的律师，在签建设工程承包合同时，往往有一笔专门费用就叫“扰民费”。北京市在这方面也有规定。王霁虹认为对于那些离噪音源特别近的居民，对生活干扰特别大的，可以协商要求给予更高金额的补偿。

NY Times: T. Friedman - Green Dreams in Shangri-La

October 28, 2005
Op-Ed Columnist
Green Dreams in Shangri-La
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN


Shangri-La County, China


I came to Shangri-La and I met the Buddha.


Well, not the Buddha, but one of the "living Buddhas" designated by the
Buddhist hierarchy as spiritual leaders throughout this Tibetan region
of China, and not the mythic Shangri-La of "Lost Horizon," but this lush
western China countryside near the border with Burma that has renamed
itself Shangri-La to attract more tourists.


But don't underestimate this Shangri-La. Its spectacular wetlands, pine
forests and mountains (this is where your rhododendrons originally came
from) make up one of the 34 biodiversity hot spots designated worldwide
by Conservation International as places with large numbers of unique
plant and animal species threatened by human development - which, once
lost, may never come back.


And that's why I came here. Because Shangri-La County is a microcosm of
the biggest challenge facing China. Put simply: if development doesn't
come to Shangri-La and other rural areas, the divide between haves and
have-nots will widen and destabilize China. But if the wrong development
comes here, it will add to global warming and ravage the rural
environment where many of China's indigenous cultures and species are
nested.


Yes, China must get its smoke-belching factories out of the coastal
cities because they are making the cities unlivable, but if it just
pushes them into the countryside, they will destroy way too much of
China's farmland, and the natural areas that are the home of things like
Tibetan culture.


The living Buddha, Ang Weng, is right in the middle of this drama,
trying to promote a higher living standard for his people - without
destroying the "sacred forests" essential to Tibetan spirituality. The
living Buddha wears a sunny smile and a cowboy hat. His wife, who makes
a mean butter tea, a traditional Tibetan drink, translated from his
Tibetan dialect into Chinese for my translator.


He got right to the point: "The human brain is moving much faster into
the modern world than the environment, and this fast move is having an
impact on the environment. Build this and build that, and you lose the
environment."


The good, and surprising, news I found in Shangri-La was how much the
poor villagers here were coming up with their own green growth
solutions. For instance, the 39 families in the village of Hamugu have
bundled their savings to build a lodge for ecotourists drawn by the
wetlands. "We just need a Web site," the manager told me. A local
botanist has built Shangri-La Alpine Botanic Garden, which employs two
dozen people and shares profits with the local village.


It also has the finest public toilet I've ever used, a solar-powered
composting toilet with an automated plastic green seat cover - in the
middle of nowhere! It was labeled "The Lavatory of Environmental
Protection of the Travel."


A U.S. multinational, 3M, is financing the restoration of the local
forests to reduce climate change and protect the watersheds. And the old
log-and-mud town of Zhongdian here is a Disneyland-like traditional
Tibetan village, with hot-pot restaurants that attract droves of Chinese
tourists.


"All the basic elements of a network solution to safeguard environment
and culture are here," said Lu Zhi, Conservation International's
director in China and my traveling companion. (My wife's a C.I. board
member.) "But the challenge is how do you organize this
business-N.G.O.-government network more effectively so you can provide
ecofriendly alternatives to industrial development that could be
replicated in the rest of rural China."


Not only would this be enormously important for China's environment, but
it could also be a model for other developing countries. What we don't
want is for China to protect its own environment and then strip everyone
else's in the developing world by importing their forests and minerals.


"For 30 years, the business of development has been Americans and
Europeans lecturing poor countries about how they need to do things
differently,"
said Glenn Prickett, a senior vice president with Conservation
International. "What we hope to see here is a new paradigm, where China,
itself a developing country, offers a new model of sustainable
development to other developing countries."


I sure hope so. We all need China to start assuming an environmental
leadership role commensurate with its impact on the world. Imagine a day
when China is sharing its own approaches to environmentally and
culturally sustainable development with other developing countries - not
just pursuing them for its resources.


Now that would be a great leap forward.

China Environment News: Environmental Public Interest Litigation Is Silently Progressing

环境公益诉讼，在沉默中前行
2005-10-31 本报记者 刘晓星

　　日前，一场因“起诉被驳回”而引发的“污染受害者权益保护研讨会”在北京举行。北京百旺家苑小区的5位居民代表因质疑修建在自家小区附近的高压输电线路可能产生电磁辐射，以建设单位在未提交环境影响评价报告的情况下核发《建设工程规划许可证》为由，将北京市规划委员会告上法庭。法院以原告与被诉具体行政行为无利害关系为由驳回了原告的起诉。
　　由一个社区自发组织的研讨会居然吸引了国内法学界和环保领域的数十位权威专家、教授，缘于此案和众多此前法律界所关注的环境公益诉讼一样，折射出环境公益诉讼的缺位所带来的无奈。正在修改的《民事诉讼法》能否将有关民事公益诉讼制度的理念和架构设计为真正的国家法律，成为与会人员热议的话题。与会者针对环境公益诉讼的主体资格、政府责任等方面进行“会诊”和研讨。
　　“如果不尽快建立环境公益诉讼制度，环境保护的事件是窒息的。”中国政法大学教授王灿发说。近年来，百姓的环境权益受到侵害而得不到司法救助的问题日益突出，从“北京百旺家苑事件”到“圆明园湖底防渗工程”，人们不得不无奈地保持着一种法律的沉默。
　　作为世界著名的遗址，圆明园防渗工程引发了社会各界强烈的反对之声。然而，就在社会各界通过听证会这种公众参与的有效方式来为圆明园大声疾呼之时，我们不得不面对这样一个事实:面对存在的违法事实，法律却显得非常无力。回放整个事件，通过法律途径解决问题似乎被排出在外，没有人提出要告工程实施者破坏文化遗产，也没有人提出要告相关主管部门监管不力。其实，“非不愿也，是不能也。”
　　依照我国《民事诉讼法》的规定，只有直接受到权益损害的受害人才能作为原告，提起诉讼。“《民事诉讼法》规定关于当事人资格的限制是公益诉讼中最大的障碍。”王灿发说。“圆明园的生态环境遭到破坏，可以说是所有人都是受害者，但却没有一个人可以诉诸法律，因为没有人符合原告的条件——直接受害人，没有人可以提起环保公益诉讼。”他解释说，《行政诉讼法》中说的直接受害人采用的是一种特质的排他性，也就是说这个东西是你的，不是别人的，这对于环境保护非常不利。北京百旺家苑等众多事件如果与个人没有利害关系，即使能够引发诉讼程序，在我国目前《民事诉讼法》规定关于当事人资格限定的情况下，往往也会以败诉或被法院驳回起诉而告终。
　　今年4月在成都召开的《民事诉讼法》修改建议稿的研讨会上，国家诉讼法学会有关人士透露，公益诉讼制度有望得到具体的确立。他说，确立公益诉讼的前提是在《民事诉讼法》中拓展当事人的概念，即《民事诉讼法》第108条关于“原告是与本案有利害关系的当事人”之规定，这也成为公益诉讼的突破口。
　　然而，据记者了解，公益诉讼进入《民事诉讼法》并不像众人所期盼的那样顺利，专家们也对此表示了相当的担忧。王灿发认为，立法机关考虑的是这一来源于西方的“洋制度”在中国会不会出现“水土不服”，会不会引发诉讼乱用。
　　公益诉讼的最大特征之一就是司法判决的“效力扩张”，即一个判决可以同时适用于其他案情类似却没有经过诉讼的当事人。有专家忧虑，中国是成文法国家，不能轻易采纳判例制度，否则会造成司法制度上的混乱，而公益制度恰恰有这方面的危险。另一方面，公益诉讼很容易导致公民的权利滥用。因为公益诉讼不要求起诉人对被诉行为有直接利害关系，而只要有大致的威胁存在就可以，这样一来，法院会应接不暇。另外，公益起诉还有可能成为某些别有用心者报复陷害和拖累被告的手段。
　　无独有偶，就在此次研讨会举行几天后，记者在参加“绿家园”的记者沙龙时，一位环境法律界专家的一席话证明了专家们的担忧不无道理。他说，尽管有学界和民间的一致呼声，但因为一些法律制度之外的因素，以维护公共利益为首要目标的“公益诉讼”制度恐怕难以在短期内出台。有关人士认为中国的诉讼制度不能脱离中国的实际，在实现全面法治之前，不管哪种诉讼制度的设计，除了考虑中国的司法需要，还要考虑司法之外的其他社会条件。
　　即便如此，一些高举着环境公益诉讼旗帜的个人仍以不屈不挠的精神，力图以个案的影响唤起我们对一种新的制度的关注；中华环保联合会、中国政法大学污染受害者法律帮助中心等众多环保组织也在为环境公益诉讼制度积极呐喊和实践着。正如王灿发教授所说，法治进程中的一个流花、浪头最后将成浪潮，我国的公益诉讼制度正处在英雄时代到法治时代的转型。

NY Times: China's Next Big Boom Could Be the Foul Air

October 30, 2005

China's Next Big Boom Could Be the Foul Air
By JIM YARDLEY


BEIJING — The steady barrage of statistics trumpeting China's rise is often greeted elsewhere as if the figures were torpedoes and the rest of the world a sinking ship. Economic growth tops 9 percent! Textile exports jump 500 percent! Military spending up! Manufacturing up!

The numbers inflame the exaggerated perception that China is methodically inhaling jobs and resources and, in the process, inhaling the rest of the planet. Burp. There goes the American furniture industry. Burp. Thanks for your oil, Venezuela.

But one statistic offered last week by a top Chinese environmental official should stimulate genuine alarm inside and outside China. The official, Zhang Lijun, warned that pollution levels here could more than quadruple within 15 years if the country does not curb its rapid growth in energy consumption and automobile use.

China, it seems, has reached a tipping point familiar to many developed countries, including the United States, that have raced headlong after economic development only to look up suddenly and see the environmental carnage. The difference with China, as is so often the case, is that the potential problems are much bigger, have happened much faster and could pose greater concerns for the entire world.

"I don't think it will jump four or five times," Robert Watson, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said of the pollution prediction by Mr. Zhang. "But it could double or triple without too much trouble. And that's a scary thought, given how bad things are now."

China is already the world's second-biggest producer of greenhouse gas emissions and is expected to surpass the United States as the biggest. Roughly a third of China is exposed to acid rain. A recent study by a Chinese research institute found that 400,000 people die prematurely every year in China from diseases linked to air pollution.

Nor does China's air pollution respect borders: on certain days almost 25 percent of the particulate matter clotting the skies above Los Angeles can be traced to China, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental experts in California predict that China could eventually account for roughly a third of the state's air pollution.

The air problem could become a major embarrassment if, as some experts believe, Beijing does not meet its environmental targets for 2008, when the Olympic Games will be played here.

For the Chinese government, the question is how to change the country's booming economy without crippling it. President Hu Jintao has made "sustainable development" a centerpiece of his effort to shift the country from unbridled growth to a more efficient economy. Mr. Hu and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao have repeatedly mentioned environmental protection in speeches.

The political attention comes as environmental problems are begetting social and economic problems. Violent riots have erupted in the countryside over contaminated water, stunted crops and mounting health woes. In a handful of villages, farmers have stormed chemical factories to stop the dumping of filthy water. Roughly 70 percent of China's rivers and lakes are polluted. In cities, people drink bottled water; in the countryside, most people are too poor to pay for bottled water, so they boil polluted water or simply drink it.

Public anger is also rising in cities. In some, air pollution is so thick that on the worst days doctors advise, impractically, against going outside. Last week, hundreds of people living in the Beijing outskirts protested plans for a factory they fear would inundate the neighborhood with pollution.

The severity of the situation has created an opening for environmentalists in and out of the government. Environmentalism is a chic issue for college students, who have participated in garbage cleanups and joined the growing number of nongovernment organizations focused on pollution. The once-meek State Environmental Protection Administration, or SEPA, has become more aggressive in identifying and going after polluters and calling for reforms.

But the political and practical obstacles are formidable. Car ownership has become part of the Chinese middle-class dream, and the car industry has become a major contributor to tax coffers and a force in the overall economy.

Industrial pollution is difficult to control because local officials often ignore emissions standards to appease polluting factories that pay local taxes. SEPA has closed factories, only to see them reopen weeks later. To make a serious reduction in air pollution, experts say, tougher, enforceable standards are needed, and many factories would need new pollution control equipment.

"There has to be the political will," said Steve Page, director of the E.P.A office of air quality planning and standards. "The challenge they face is how will these plants be lined up and told this will happen?"

Politically, the Communist Party has based its legitimacy on delivering economic growth and understands that the boom cannot be taken for granted: high growth is needed simply to keep unemployment in check, and top leaders fear that a slowdown could lead to social instability. Local officials are promoted, foremost, for delivering economic growth. This is why environmental officials have pushed for a new "green G.D.P.," which would alter how gross domestic product is calculated to reflect losses inflicted by environmental degradation.

The party is suspicious of environmental groups because of the role similar groups played in promoting grass-roots democracy in the "color" revolutions of central Asia. Human Rights Watch reported that some environmentalists were recently arrested.

But if there is resistance, there is progress, too. A law taking effect next year will require that China produce 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Fuel efficiency standards for new cars are already stricter than those in the United States. At an air pollution conference last Monday, environmental officials solicited advice from their peers in Europe and the United States.

Mr. Page, the E.P.A. official, praised Chinese officials and said China is considering the sort of regional pollution abatement strategies used in the United States. "They are wrestling with a lot of the same pollution problems that we wrestled with several years ago and that, to some extent, we still are grappling with," said Mr. Page, who attended the conference.

Ma Jun, an independent environmentalist based in Beijing, also praised the efforts by SEPA. Mr. Ma said China's status as the "workshop of the world" made it inevitable that its share of the world's pollution would increase. But he also cautioned that too many government ministries remained consumed by economic development. He said the government also needed to recognize the "environmental rights" of citizens.

"The pollution problem," he said, "is very serious."

The Guardian: Satellite data reveals Beijing as air pollution capital of world

Satellite data reveals Beijing as air pollution capital of world

Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Monday October 31, 2005
The Guardian

As it gears up to host the 2008 Olympic Games Beijing has been
awarded an unwelcome new accolade: the air pollution capital of the
world.


Satellite data has revealed that the city is one of the worst
environmental victims of China's spectacular economic growth, which
has brought with it air pollution levels that are blamed for more
than 400,000 premature deaths a year.


According to the European Space Agency, Beijing and its neighbouring
north-east Chinese provinces have the planet's worst levels of
nitrogen dioxide, which can cause fatal damage to the lungs.

An explosive increase in car ownership is blamed for a sharp rise in
unhealthy emissions. In the past five years the number of vehicles
clogging the capital's streets has more than doubled to nearly 2.5m.
It is expected to top the 3m mark by the start of the Olympics in
2008.


Alarm about the perilous state of the environment has gathered pace
in recent years. China is the world's second-largest producer of
greenhouse gases, and the World Bank has warned it is home to 16 of
the planet's 20 most air-polluted cities.


According to the European satellite data, pollutants in the sky over
China have increased by about 50% during the past 10 years. Senior
officials warn that worse is still to come. At a recent seminar
Zhang Lijun, deputy director of the environmental protection agency,
said that pollution levels could more than quadruple within 15 years
unless the country can slow the rise in energy consumption and
automobile use.


A recently published study, conducted by the Chinese Academy on
Environmental Planning, blamed air pollution for 411,000 premature
deaths - mostly from lung and heart-related diseases - in 2003. It
said that a third of China's urban residents were exposed to harmful
levels of pollution. More than 100 million people live in cities,
such as Beijing, where the air is considered "very dangerous".


The political implications are also becoming more apparent. Health
concerns, particularly regarding cancer and birth defects thought to
be caused by chemical factories, have been a major factor in a
recent wave of protests. Conservation groups say acid rain falls on a
third of China's territory and 70% of rivers and lakes are so full
of toxins they can no longer be used for drinking water.




http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,7369,1605146,00.html