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• The Chinese government acknowledges the severity of China's environmental problems and has taken steps to curb pollution and environmental degradation. Since 2001, it has formulated or revised environmental protection laws, administrative regulations, and standards, and has worked to strengthen enforcement of anti-pollution rules. The Chinese government has also welcomed international technical assistance to combat environmental degradation, and has increased cooperation with the U.S. government on environmental protection over the past year.

• Despite these initiatives, local enforcement of environmental laws and regulations is poor, and underfunding of environmental protection activities continues to hinder official efforts to prevent environmental degradation. A lack of transparency hampers the Chinese government's ability to respond to civil emergencies, including environmental disasters. Government efforts to impose greater control over environmental civil society groups during the past year have stifled citizen activism.

Government Response to Environmental Degradation

The Chinese government acknowledges the severity of China's environmental problems. The State Council's White Paper on "Environmental Protection (1996-2005)," issued in June 2006, notes that "the contradiction between economic growth and environmental protection is particularly prominent" as the "relative shortage of resources, a fragile ecological environment and insufficient environmental capacity are becoming critical problems hindering China's development."¹ Senior government officials also acknowledge the possible threat to social stability posed by severe environmental degradation.² A U.S. expert has observed that environmental degradation and pollution "constrain economic growth, contribute to large-scale migration, harm public health, and engender social unrest."³ According to official Chinese estimates, environmental degradation and pollution cost China an estimated 8 to 12 percent of annual GDP,⁴ and the number of mass protests over pollution has increased by 29 percent per year since 2000.⁵

The Chinese government has taken steps to curb pollution and environmental degradation. In both its 10th (2001-2005) and 11th (2006-2010) Five-Year Programs, the government formulated or revised environmental protection laws, administrative regulations, and standards,⁶ and has worked to strengthen enforcement of anti-pollution rules.⁷ The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) announced in October 2005 that city governments will be penalized if they fail to attain national air quality standards.⁸ SEPA has also continued to close factories and halt construction projects that violate the Environmental Impact Assessment Law and other environmental protection laws.⁹ In September 2005, a Sichuan court found environmental protection officials and commercial enterprise officers criminally liable for severely polluting the Tuojiang (Tuo River). This case is the first in which environmental protection authorities investigated officials and company officers at the same time for an environmental crime.¹⁰

Despite these initiatives, local enforcement of environmental laws and regulations is poor, and underfunding of environmental protection activities continues to hinder official efforts to prevent environmental degradation.¹¹ Officials often seek to protect enterprises that pollute because local governments derive income from these enterprises and job evaluations for officials are based on local economic performance, not improvements in health or safety.¹² Local officials have also pressured local environmental protection bureaus (EPBs) to overlook pollution and take no action against polluters. Moreover, EPB officials sometimes allow polluting enterprises to continue operation, because their often underfunded bureaus derive additional funds by collecting fines from polluters.¹³ In late 2005, poor local enforcement of environmental laws and corruption triggered mass protests by villagers in Zhejiang province.¹⁴

Government Transparency and Environmental Protection

A lack of transparency hampers the Chinese government's ability to respond to civil emergencies, including environmental disasters. An explosion in November 2005 at a petrochemical plant in Jilin province released over 100 tons of benzene and other toxic chemicals into the Songhua River.¹⁵ The Songhua flows into neighboring Heilongjiang province and is the main water source for Harbin, the provincial capital, and surrounding areas.¹⁶ Jilin officials and plant managers initially denied that the explosion caused any pollution and tried to dilute the spill by discharging water from a reservoir.¹⁷ Jilin officials also waited approximately five days to inform Heilongjiang provincial officials and the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) about the spill.¹⁸ Once informed, Harbin officials announced that the water supply system would be shut down for "routine maintenance." Harbin officials revised the announcement amid rumors of a chemical spill, and informed the public 10 days after the spill that the water system would be unavailable for 4 days due to "possible" contamination.¹⁹ This delayed local government response impeded central government efforts to manage the crisis, led to panic among the citizens of Harbin city, and created a diplomatic incident with Russia.²⁰ According to a U.S. expert, "there are few incentives for local officials in China to be bearers of bad news within the system, because they believe they will likely be penalized for it politically from the higher-ups."²¹

After the Songhua spill, the central government dismissed some officials and passed rules to discourage provincial and local officials from concealing information from the central government.²² These reforms were not intended to relax the government's control over the media or over the free flow of information to the general public. Rather, the goal was to increase the flow of information to central authorities in Beijing. In January 2006, the State Council issued a general plan on emergency response, stipulating that Class I ("most serious") or Class II ("serious") incidents must be reported to the State Council within four hours, and that the public should be provided with accurate information in a timely manner.²³ In February 2006, SEPA issued a notice stating that serious incidents must be reported to SEPA within an hour of being discovered.²⁴ Despite these steps to improve local reporting to higher authorities, the central government did not address the larger issue of government control over the news media,²⁵ which led to a nearly two-week press blackout on the Songhua spill. Moreover, the National People's Congress is considering a new draft law that would fine news media organizations that report on sudden incidents, such as environmental disasters, without prior government authorization.²⁶

Public Participation in Environmental Protection

The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) has continued efforts to expand public participation in environmental protection work. In February 2006, SEPA released two provisional measures on public participation in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures. These measures are the first to contain specific arrangements and procedures for public involvement in environmental issues.²⁷ The measures allow a limited role for the public in the EIA process through attendance at symposiums or public hearings, answering questionnaires, and consulting experts. In July 2006, a SEPA official announced that public hearings may be held on important, complex, or difficult environmental matters.²⁸ In addition, before contractors launch a project, they are required to provide the public with details on how construction could affect the environment and what preventive measures will be taken.²⁹

The Chinese government has altered or delayed some development projects in response to environmental concerns from civil society groups, but a continued lack of transparency limits public involvement and violates the government's own environmental protection laws. In February 2004, the government responded to citizen environmental concerns and agreed to suspend all 13 proposed hydroelectric dam projects on the Nujiang (Nu River) in Yunnan province, pending further review.³⁰ In 2005, Chinese officials reversed this decision after a closed internal review, said that four of the proposed dams would be built, and banned further news media coverage of the topic.³¹ Officials released information regarding the proposed dam project under public pressure. In September 2005, environmental activists posted an open letter to the State Council on the Internet, pointing out violations of the EIA law and demanding that officials organize a public hearing on the dam project.³² Provincial authorities subsequently released the government's order approving the EIA report, after refusing to do so for two years.³³

Despite these positive steps, government efforts to impose greater control over environmental civil society groups during the past year have stifled citizen activism. In June 2006, an unidentified assailant assaulted Three Gorges resettlement activist Fu Xiancai, leaving him paralyzed from the shoulders down, after he met with a public security official to discuss his interview with a German television station in May. Fu had been harassed and threatened for more than a year as a result of his petitioning efforts.³⁴ The official investigation into the assault concluded in August that Fu's injuries were self-inflicted, a finding that is disputed by observers and those close to him.³⁵ This assault follows the detention of environmental activists in October 2005 and April 2006.³⁶ Tan Kai, who was detained in October 2005 for his involvement in the environmental group "Green Watch," went to trial in May on charges of illegally obtaining state secrets and was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment in August.³⁷ Authorities tried a villager from Zhejiang province in November 2005 for his role in a protest against air pollution.³⁸ In August 2005, senior officials announced that the All-China Environment Federation would conduct a survey of environmental organizations.³⁹ Some analysts believe that the goal of the survey is to rein in the activities of civil society organizations.⁴⁰

International Environmental Cooperation

The Chinese government has welcomed international technical assistance to combat environmental degradation. The United States and China share a common interest in protecting the environment, and over the past year the two governments have increased bilateral cooperation on environmental protection, including:

• In November 2005, the Joint Committee on Environmental Cooperation (JCEC) met in the United States for its inaugural session. The JCEC was formed on the basis of a 2003 agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the China State Environmental Protection Administration to collaborate on environmental issues, beginning with air pollution, water contamination, and the environmental impact of toxic substances.⁴¹

• The Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, a U.S. initiative to promote the development and deployment of clean energy technologies to meet pollution reduction, energy security, and climate change concerns, was launched in January 2006. Member countries include the United States, China, Australia, India, Japan, and South Korea.⁴² One priority of the Partnership is to strengthen U.S.-China cooperation on environmental protection.⁴³

• In April 2006, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson met in China with his counterpart, Minister Zhou Shengxian, to sign an agreement on hazardous-waste management, including finding and disposing of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Johnson also toured an EPA-funded project to encourage the use of cleaner, safer home cooking fuels in Lijiang city, Yunnan province, and an EPA-supported project between the Port of Los Angeles and the Shanghai Municipal Port Administration to reduce air pollution.⁴⁴

• In May 2006, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a grant to the Shandong Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) to develop cleaner energy sources and another grant to the Shanxi Provincial EPB to improve air quality.⁴⁵