In response to a news article on how much resources were poured into solving the case of despoiling the national flag, Charlie McElwee, author of the China Environmental Law blog, bemoaned the fact that the Chinese government has not channeled its resources to combat against the country’s environmental problems.
A more general question is how China apportions its resources for the country’s variegated problems. While I believe that such measure exists, it is not transparent to the public. From my observation, issues that involve protecting the government’s agenda, such as building a harmonious society or economic development, receive a greater proportion of resources. Such apportioning might make sense to the ruling party, but does it make sense economically, environmentally and socially? Such discussions should happen…
A New Environmental Enforcement Unit?
Last month in Chongqing, over 100 police investigated 873 suspects over 10 days before issuing warrants for the arrest of two people (full article). Chongqing’s top communist official, Bo Xilai, “a rising political star and son of the late revolutionary and military leader Bo Yibo”, ordered the massive manhunt. What heinous crime had the dangerous miscreants committed? Poisoned the drinking water of their rural neighbors; dumped toxic chemicals into the fields of the local farmers, emitted air pollutants that sickened the children in the adjacent school; all of the above?br /br /Uh no. These two (are you seated?) damaged four flags, “a national one and others representing organs of the Communist Party,” at a cemetery for communist martyrs by throwing ink-filled eggs at them. It does not appear that the arrestees intended to make a grand political statement, but were simply taking out their frustrations with the “local land departments” in a “dispute over land issues.”
What do we learn from this incident?nbsp; Nothing that we didn’t already know.nbsp; When a high official wants something done, it usually gets done.nbsp; Thus, no more excuses about lack of resources.nbsp; If Chongqing can commit 100 police officers for 10 days to catch some egg throwers, it should be able to stop every illegal discharger.nbsp; So, now that these two scofflaws have been apprehended, take these 100 police officers and make them the nucleus of a new environmental enforcement unit (likenbsp;the one recently established in a Kunming and several other locales) with a mandate to get tough.nbsp;nbsp;That effort will burnish the the imagine of the country and the party.
