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More photos of the story
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| The image shows an aerial view of the front
of polluted water of Songhua River reaching Harbin, capital of northeast
China's Heilongjiang Province on Nov. 24, 2005. (Photo:
Xinhua) | BEIJING, Nov. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- A central government work group leaves here Friday for the northeastern Harbin city to investigate into the pollution of the Songhua River, now officially categorized as a "major water pollution incident."
The presence of disciplinary officials in the team
indicates punishments of irresponsible acts are on the way.
The incident, caused by the November 13 blast of a
chemical plant near the river, has stunned the whole nation. It has been
horrible for more than 3 million people of Harbin to be bereft of water for four
days.
Chinese leaders have sent strong messages in the past
few days, ordering the relevant departments to ensure the safety of drinking
water, closely follow the pollution situation and provide accurate information.
On Wednesday, the State Council set targets of
combating environmental degradation for the next 15 years. By 2020, China's
environmental quality and ecological status should be improved remarkably,
according to the plan.
At a press conference Thursday, a senior
environmental official said the government will adopt more rigorous measures to
reduce the overall discharge of pollutants into rivers and lakes in the next
five years.
"During the coming five years, the State
Environmental Protection Administration will ban all sewage outfalls in water
source protection zones to guarantee the safety of drinking water for the
people," he said.
The media in China have given blanket coverage to
developments of the pollution upon eager requests from the public. The incident
has stimulated widespread reflection about China's environmental conditions. The
popularity of the issue is evident from voluminous postings on Internet bulletin
boards.
Environmental awareness in China, which is rising as
fast as the country's wealth, has received a boost from the incident.
Following the incident, east China's Shanghai
revealed Thursday it is drafting environmental standards for district leaders.
Compliance with the standards will influence the promotion or demotion of
cadres.
On the same day, 19 provinces jointly submitted a
suggestion to the State Council on enhancing the ecological protection of inland
lakes and instituting a mechanism that takes environmental conditions into
account when evaluating regional development, dubbed the "Green GDP" evaluation
system.
The system has long been touted as an effective
measure to concretely advance environmental protection.
The general public obviously has also becomes more
aware of the preciousness of a sound environmental situation from the Songhua
River incident.
"Though the water supply cutoff has caused much
difficulties and inconvenience, it is also a good opportunity for us," said Zhou
Yajuan, a female school teacher in Harbin. "It is a perfect example for us to
teach our kids about the need to save and care for our water resources."
The current event is set to become a catalyst for
fundamental change. Now that China has learned and matured from the SARS
experience, it is also likely to take a big stride forward after the Songhua
River pollution incident.
Conditions for the change are all there. It needs
only a little more push, followed by focused and well-organized efforts.
World environmental protection equipment manufacturers should keep an eye out for that. Enditem
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