On Feb 9th, the Central Leading Group for Inspection Work reported to the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) on the issue of party disciplinary enforcement.
A multitude of problems relating to environmental impact assessment (EIA) for new projects were disclosed, such as:
Many projects are constructed or changed without undergoing EIA;
Some officials and their family members intervened in the EIA results and administrative approval procedures;
Some governmental agencies colluded with third-party EIA service providers or set up affiliate companies to manipulate the market.
Some accredited EIA service providers were not under strict supervision after obtaining the qualification certificate.
State funds for water pollution control and abatement were embezzled.
On Feb 14th, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced the punishment of 13 officials from the environmental protection administrations of 6 provinces. The youngest, born in 1982, was sentenced to 15 years after a being found guilty of corruption, embezzlement and gambling. Another example, the former Deputy Director of Xiamen Environmental Protection Bureau, Fujian Province, was found guilty of accepting bribes of more than 2 million RMB was sentenced to 12-years in prison.
Chen Jining, the newly appointed Secretary of the MEP Party Committee and future Minister of Environmental Protection vowed on behalf of the Party Committee to carry out a thorough internal investigation and to combat corruption and vowed to place as much emphasis on fighting corruption as they will on combating environmental pollution. Chen Jining has an outstanding educational background (doctorate level in environmental science and engineering, including a stint at London’s Imperial College) and has an equally prestigious career profile (former President of Tsinghua University, China’s top higher education institution), both of which have engendered people's faith in the new MEP leadership. He participated in the EIA of the urban development of Dalian City, the coastal development strategy of key industries in the Bohai Rim and the development strategy of central China, etc.
