Environmental Protection

New environmental team booed amid pollution woes

17 Mar 2013

Balloting on the new line-up of the National People's Congress' environmental protection and resources conservation committee saw 850 opposition votes and 125 abstentions, about a third of the...

5:59AM

2 comments

China's 80 billion disposable chopsticks a 'burden' on forests

11 Mar 2013

Bo Guangxin, chairman of state-owned timber firm Jilin Forest Industry, said at a meeting of the annual parliament session on Friday that the mass production of the wooden tableware is a heavy...

3:41PM

Villager assaulted after challenging official to swim in polluted river

26 Feb 2013

Pailian villager Chen Yuqian, 60, made the offer last Wednesday so the official could aware how polluted the river was. But instead, Chen Yuqian was roughed up by over 40 villagers on Sunday...

5:25PM

Beijing air quality plummets after Lantern Festival fireworks

25 Feb 2013

Heavy smog blanketed most areas in Beijing and air pollution readings surged after enthusiastic residents set off fireworks to celebrate the annual Lantern Festival, Xinhua reported on Monday.

12:23PM

Chinese officials launch 'green' ad to fight back against swimming challenge

21 Feb 2013

Haunted by media attention after local officials were challenged to swim in polluted rivers, Wenzhou authorities fought back with a 140,000 yuan advertisement campaign boasting of their...

12:57PM

New offer made to another official to swim in polluted river

20 Feb 2013

Two days after a Zhejiang entrepreneur offered a 200,000 yuan reward to an environmental official if he could swim in a polluted river, a similar offer was made in the same province, a local...

3:08PM

Opinion

Michael Cox

The 1-2 punch heard around the world

5:37PM

Wang Xiangwei

Placating graduates a work in progress

2 comments

5:24AM

Polluted river not my responsibility, says Chinese official after 'reward offer'

A senior environment official of a town in eastern China said his bureau was "not responsible" for a polluted river after he was challenged to swim in the water for 200,000 yuan.

3:17PM

6 comments

To protect China's environment, make its courts independent

I was recently invited to give a lecture at the Wuhan University School of Law on the topic of environmental protection laws and the judicial system in Hong Kong. On a cold morning, I took an...

2:57AM

Laos' construction of barrage triggers Mekong crisis

The four-nation Mekong River Commission (MRC) that supposedly co-ordinates activity on Southeast Asian's most important waterway faces a credibility crisis over the refusal by Laos to listen to...

2:47AM

A real strategy to save Hong Kong's endangered natural assets

The proposed beach at Lung Mei, incinerator at Shek Kwu Chau, expansion of the Tseung Kwan O landfill into Clear Water Bay Country Park and a potential third runway at the airport have all...

5:06AM

Letters to the Editor, January 14, 2013

Beauty of New Territories being ruined

I couldn't agree more with Guy Shirra's points ("Scrap unfair small-house policy now", January 9).

I am so disillusioned with this policy and...

3:31AM

9 comments

Transparency clears the sky

Transparency is indispensable to good governance. In China opaque smog is often a symbolic reminder of lack of transparency on matters that are the legitimate concern of ordinary folk. Hazardous...

2:36AM