Local govts get greater role over environmental issues

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The nation's new Environmental Protection Law, which will take effect on Jan 1, will increase the responsibility of local governments in dealing with environmental problems, bringing them unprecedented power and challenges at the same time.

The new law will give local government bodies, especially environmental protection departments, increased supervisory duties. Among those responsibilities will be conducting on-site checks of polluting enterprises, closing down and seizing facilities that are causing severe pollution, and creating alarm systems to warn the public about pollution incidents.

"The basic quality of the environment is a public good, and a public service that the government must ensure to provide," said then-vice-premier Li Keqiang when attending the Seventh National Environmental Protection Convention in December 2011.

The Environmental Protection Law, approved by the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, on Thursday, is the first revision in 25 years. It took at least 10 years, beginning with research, to gain approval after four draft versions.

Tong Weidong, deputy director of the Office for Administrative Law of the Legislative Affairs Commission of China's National People's Congress Standing Committee, said the new law asks local governments to take responsibility for environmental quality within their regions; set up pollution restriction targets and an evaluation system for them; and play a greater role in balancing the development of the local economies and environmental protection.

Yuan Jie, director of the office, said the shift of power from the central government to local governments can help them solve regional problems specific to them more effectively.

Pan Yue, vice-minister of Environmental Protection, said that along with more power will come harsher administrative accountability measures.

"Officials who are found to have approved illegal projects, covered up illegal behavior, failed to act in time after public tips, forged monitoring data, and failed to disclose environmental information that should be publicized by law will face punishments such as demotion, removal from their posts and losing their jobs," he said.

Questions:

1. What takes effect on Jan 1?

2. What does it do?

3. Who approved the law?

Answers:

1. The nation’s new Environmental Protection Law.

2. Gives local government bodies, especially environmental protection departments, increased supervisory duties.

3. The National People's Congress.

About the broadcaster:

Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.