China Environmental Law

My friend and fellow environmental lawyer, Dayton Carpenter, forwarded me an article that says nothing about, yet speaks volumes, regarding the state of environmental enforcement in China.

Last month in Chongqing, 100+ police investigated 873 suspects over 10 days before issuing warrants for the arrest of two people.  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?

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.” 

China is free to make desecration of its national symbols a crime, and it has shown restraint by making the maximum possible sentence no more than “three years in prison.” 

Coincidentally, three years in prison is also the same maximum penalty that applies to most environmental crimes.  Whoever

in violation of the regulations of the State, discharges, dumps or treats radioactive waste, waste containing pathogen of infectious diseases, toxic substances or other hazardous waste on the land or in the water or the atmosphere, thus causing a serious environmental pollution accident which leads to the serious consequences of heavy losses of public or private property or personal injuries.

China Criminal Code, Article 338.

What do we learn from this incident?  Nothing that we didn’t already know.  When a high official wants something done, it usually gets done.  Thus, no more excuses about lack of resources.  If Chongqing can commit 100 police officers for 10 days to catch some egg throwers, it should be able to stop every illegal discharger.  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 (like the one recently established in Kunming and several other locales) with a mandate to get tough.  That effort will burnish the the imagine of the country and the party.