A New Role for Reporters in China

By Liu Jianqiang, TomPaine.com. Posted December 3, 2001.

My first trip to the United States took me to Portland, which I found to be a beautiful city. In the United States, the western part is scenic and peaceful, but in China, things are different. The west of China is poor, and the environment is deteriorating.

Last summer, I went to the western China to the ancient and mysterious area of Loulan, which was a very important empire on the Silk Road, an ancient trading route from China to Europe. There used to be large patches of forests and lakes in Loulan. But last year when I went, there was nothing left but a few hillocks. The area has nearly become a desert after long periods of drought, water shortage, and damage caused by humans.

The Loulan region is near the Gansu, a western Chinese province. In 1993, in LanZhou, the capital of Gansu, some farmers established a factory. The factory caused a lot of air pollution, and local residents took to the streets to protest; some people died in the violence. When interviewed by reporters, residents said, "We can't survive in that polluted air." But workers said they needed the jobs the factory provided.

China is a developing country. Economic growth is a priority. In the 1990s farmers set up many factories, including some notorious for polluting -- such as paper mills and cement plants. The economy improved but at the same time the environment deteriorated. An official from the environmental protection bureau of Chongqing told visiting journalists one day about a visit from the chief of state of a certain county. From far away, the state official saw the white foam of pollution on the Yangtze River and asked, "What's that?" Embarrassed, the environmental protection official answered sheepishly, "Ducks."

Today, the Yangtze River is severely polluted by waste from the cities, from the factories on both sides, as well as by the ships sailing the river. "You will not sink even if you stand on the water because there is three-meter thick rubbish on the surface near Gezhou Dam," a senior official once said.

Around China's capital, sand storms have grown more common as urban sprawl and deforestation fuel the disappearance of trees and grassland. In April, 2000, a sand storm hit Beijing and killed five people working on the top of a building. I was forced to stay home, and spent the day looking at the yellow sky with worry. 'Will Beijing become another Loulan, the disappeared great city?' I wondered.

Environmental journalists can play a critical role in making sure this does not happen. In 1998, the Environment and Resources Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), which is a part of the Chinese central command, organized dozens of reporters from several media institutions to go to ZheJiang Province to do some interviews. Tin factories dating back 600 years had dangerously polluted the environment. Residents and workers were constantly fighting. After reports by environmental journalists, several tin mines were closed. In 1999, after another series of reports exposing the situation, the government of Zhejiang Province was forced to close all the mines. It took only two years for the environmental reporters to help solve a problem that had existed for 600 years.

In China, there are environmental protection laws, and there are environmental protection bureaus. So why are things still dissatisfactory, and why are environmental reporters still badly needed?

The problem is that while the factories in China pollute the environment they are central to the nation's economical development.

In addition, Chinese officials are not elected, but are nominated by senior officials. The nominating officials judge whether candidates are likely to stimulate economic developments. Potential candidates focus on how much tax they can collect, not on environmental concerns.

In my hometown, a paper mill polluted the groundwater of the whole city but the head of the guilty factory was still considered a hero by the government because the mill pays tens of millions of dollars in taxes each year.

Now you may understand why the government might ignore a factory's pollution unless that factory cannot afford to pay taxes. The municipal revenue, and city officials, would be badly affected by a factory closing.

There is an environmental protection bureau in every municipality, but the director is appointed by the mayor. The local newspapers and television stations are well aware of the environmental problems, but guess who nominates their chief editors? Again, the mayor. Of course, the chief editors dare not do anything to upset their superiors. In the meantime, China's environmental problems grow more and more severe.

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