China Environmental Law

I haven’t seen an official announcement of the Vice Ministerial lineup at the new Ministry of Environment (MEP), but if we scan the pictures and read the Chinese press reports of who attended the unveiling ceremony for the new Ministry signage, it looks like the old SEPA guard survived intact. Here’s a photo of ceremony from MEP’s new website:

Although this isn’t the clearest picture, I’ll try to identify the featured players from left to right:

1. Head of the Permanent Discipline Inspection Group, Ms. Fu Wenjuan (傅雯娟)
2. Vice Minister, Mr. Zhou Jian (周建)
3. Vice Minister, Mr. Zhang Lijun (张力军)
4. Minister, Mr. Zhou Shengxian (周生贤)
5. Vice Minister, Mr. Pan Yue (潘岳)
6. Vice Minister, Mr. Wu Xiaoqing (吴晓青)
7. Vice Minister, Mr. Li Ganjie (李干杰)
8. Member of the Leading Party Group of MEP, Mr. Zhu Guangyao (祝光耀)

You can find out more about your favorite MEP Vice Minister or Party official here.

Life must be very dull as an official Chinese photographer — the podium shot, the lineup, the handshake, the “sit and chat”– so when you are given a little leeway, you’d expect the pent up creative juices to flow. And, you’d expect wrong. Here is the cover photo for the MEP signage story from the China Radio International site :

We have the pedestrian about to be mowed down by the black Honda-nothing out of the ordinary there; the crack security forces-ditto; and a big red sign that has nothing to do with MEP. The white sign the bewildered and soon to be to be flattened 行人 appears to be looking at does mention MEP, but what are we to take away from that? There is a ceratin narrative tension in the picture I suppose, but I’d expect more from the liberated lensman.