Local governments to blame for pollution scandals, analysts say

Analysts said the plight of Shanghang county villagers was not an isolated case, and the pollution caused by Zijin Mining Group was 'just the tip of the iceberg'.

Wang Jin , an environmental law professor at Peking University, said local governments should take responsibility for a slew of pollution scandals that hit the mainland.

'It is absolutely not possible for enterprises to commit such a massive error without the backing of the local government,' Wang said. 'We've been talking about tackling industrial and chemical pollution all these years, and the laws and regulations are all in place, but what has happened?

'The government not only fails in its duty each and every time when the public interest is being hurt, but also helps businesses circumvent laws and get away with light punishment.'

Mu Guangfeng , a senior official at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, also points the finger at local authorities. 'It's getting really worse when local officials know no shame about blindly pursuing profits. Do they still have a moral bottom line? That's probably the worst part of China's pollution problems,' he said.

The ministry launched a 1 billion yuan (HK$1.14 billion), three-year nationwide survey of land pollution in 2005, but the findings have never been made public.