Tycoons join activists in call to scrap limit on lawsuits against polluters
A hundred entrepreneurs yesterday joined a call by grass-roots activists and legal experts to scrap a proposed change to the Environmental Protection Law that would allow only a government-backed agency to sue polluters in the public interest.
A hundred entrepreneurs yesterday joined a call by grass-roots activists and legal experts to scrap a proposed change to the Environmental Protection Law that would allow only a government-backed agency to sue polluters in the public interest.
The 24-year-old law is undergoing its first revision after the country's new leaders vowed to tackle the growing pollution crisis by impose heavier penalties on polluters and improve government transparency on decisions about industrial projects.
But a clause in the draft amendment made public last month, that allows only the All-China Environment Federation, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, to sue polluters on behalf of the public, has been strongly opposed by grass-roots environmentalists and legal experts.
Now about 100 entrepreneurs, including property developers Ren Zhiqiang and Wang Shi, have joined the opposition. In an open letter to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, they propose that all legally registered environmental organisations and foundations, that have operated for at least three years, should have the right to launch public interest litigation.
Ren, once known for his outspoken criticism of mainland real estate policies, said in an online interview yesterday that the government could only rein in polluters if the public were given more power to monitor offending companies.
"Having clean water to drink, safe food to eat and fresh air to breathe are crucial elements of the Chinese dream," Ren told his 15 million followers during the live interview on Sina Weibo.
"There can be no talk of a better dream when people still live in an environment that threatens their lives."
Last weekend, Ren joined a group of businessmen to expose a factory in Chongqing that illegally discharged wastewater into the Yangtze River.
The group's disclosure of the pollution prompted the titanium white producer's Shenzhen-listed parent to suspend trading on Monday, while the Chongqing environmental protection bureau also responded quickly that it was investigating the pollution.
"Environmental authorities may have limited resources to weed out all the polluters, so that's why it is necessary to allow the public to monitor offenders," Ren said.