Not only activists, tycoons rally against pollution in China
Beijing (AsiaNews) - A group of more than a hundred Chinese industrialists have decided to join the protests of activists and environmental lawyers and ask the government to change the new law on environmental protection. The law provides for the death penalty for polluters but states that only one group (governmental) may file valid complaints on the subject.
The current law on the
environment was launched in China 24 years ago. As
a result of food scandals, social protests and a higher and higher rate of
pollution, the government has decided to submit a new one, which these days is
being discussed by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. The
text provides
for new and harsh penalties for polluters, but it also states that
"only the All-China Environment Federation [state-owned group under the party
control ed] may present valid complaints against polluters".
The
stakes are so ridiculous that the law, according to the opposition, is emptied
of all meaning. The
protests of environmentalists have joined the industrialists - including Ren
Zhiqiang, real estate giant and Wang Shi - who sent an open letter to the
government asking that "all organizations and foundations that work for environmental
protection for at least 3 years have the right to lodge a valid complaint".
Ren
went further and, in a live interview on Sina Weibo (a popular Chinese microblogging
site) said: "Having clean water to drink, food to eat safe and healthy air
to breathe are crucial elements of the Chinese Dream". The
reference is to the slogan of the new President Xi Jinping: "We can not
talk about better dreams, as long as the population lives in an environment
that threatens life itself."
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