{"id":28576,"date":"2010-04-20T15:38:00","date_gmt":"2010-04-20T15:38:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-05-14T18:40:02","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T18:40:02","slug":"3576-a-paper-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"A paper victory"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In early February, the results of a national pollution survey released by the Chinese <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/english.mep.gov.cn\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ministry of Environmental Protection<\/a> (MEP) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2010\/02\/10\/world\/asia\/10pollute.html\">showed<\/a> that the country&rsquo;s pollution problems were much worse than previously estimated. The international media appeared to accept the ministry&rsquo;s explanation for the discrepancy in its figures &ndash; agricultural sources of pollution had not previously been included. But such reports overlooked a more crucial factor: over the last two years the MEP has made no real headway in tackling pollution. It has merely made some feints and declared a paper victory. <\/p>\n<p>On November 2 last year, Chinese news agency Xinhua <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/shidi.eco.gov.cn\/a\/shidixinwen\/20091104\/2758.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported <\/a>that the minister for environmental protection, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zhou_Shengxian\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zhou Shengxian<\/a>, had claimed that China had &ldquo;stopped water pollution worsening&rdquo; and seen slight improvements in all areas over the previous year, during a speech at the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chinalakes.org\/html\/En\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">13th World Lake Conference<\/a>, held in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. <\/p>\n<p>This conclusion does not match the facts. On November 11, the <em>People&rsquo;s Daily <\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sourcejuice.com\/1274792\/2009\/11\/12\/not-drink-water-pollution-100-billion-Paradox\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported <\/a>that, in spite of a six year investment programme, which saw 91 billion yuan (US$13.3 billion) spent on efforts to improve China&rsquo;s three most polluted rivers and lakes, water quality remains poor. As the development of the Yangtze Delta has charged ahead, for example, the standard of water in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Taihu_Lake\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lake Taihu<\/a>, eastern China, has fallen by three grades &ndash; from grade two in the 1980s to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wepa-db.net\/policies\/state\/china\/enclosed.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">grade five or worse<\/a> now. The many textile-dying, chemical- and food-processing plants around the lake have caused a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Taihu_Lake#Pollution\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">major accumulation<\/a> of pollutants. Lake <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chao_Lake\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chao<\/a>, in eastern China, and Lake <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dian_Lake\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dian<\/a>, in the south-west, have both shrunk and become more polluted as a result of aquaculture, reclamation of land for agriculture and the building of factories. <\/p>\n<p>The MEP is also aware that, over the past year, there have been 12 incidents of heavy metal and metalloid pollution in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rsc.org\/chemistryworld\/News\/2009\/August\/25080902.asp\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fengxiang<\/a> in central China, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chinadailyusa.com\/news\/NewsInfo.asp?range=1&amp;lv2=5&amp;id=14776\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wugang <\/a>in south China and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gokunming.com\/en\/blog\/item\/1100\/chinas_newest_lead_poisoning_investigation_underway_in_kunming\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dongchuan<\/a>, a district of the south-western city of Kunming. These cases <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chinadaily.com.cn\/china\/2010-04\/10\/content_9711092.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">left <\/a>4,035 people with excessive levels of lead in their blood and 182 with excessive levels of cadmium and gave rise to 32 &ldquo;mass incidents&rdquo;, or public protests. <\/p>\n<p>The MEP&rsquo;s national pollution survey itself <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chinadialogue.net\/article\/show\/single\/en\/3508-Dynamic-data\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">undermines <\/a>the department&rsquo;s official statements. And even without that data, the Chinese public can see, smell and taste that water quality is still falling and that the environment as a whole is worsening. So why does the ministry insist that water quality is improving? Vice-minister of environmental protection, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chinavitae.com\/biography\/Zhang_Lijun%7C2698\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zhang Lijun<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/au.china-embassy.org\/eng\/xw\/t663168.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">explains <\/a>that levels of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sulfur_dioxide\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sulphur dioxide<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chemical_oxygen_demand\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chemical Oxygen Demand<\/a> (COD) &ndash; a measure that helps determine the amount of organic pollutants in surface water &ndash; both fell in 2008 and 2009. This is the basis for the MEP&rsquo;s claim. <\/p>\n<p>But there are <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Water_quality#Measurement\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">many different<\/a> indicators of water quality. Measuring just two of these is clearly inadequate and can lead to the wrong conclusions being drawn &ndash; as the MEP has shown. It is as if the ministry is a doctor who has declared a patient suffering from a brain tumour healthy on grounds of normal blood pressure. <\/p>\n<p>As the highest of China&rsquo;s environmental protection agencies, the MEP must be aware that it is impossible to get a full picture of water quality by measuring just two factors. Nor can it be ignorant of the reality of China&rsquo;s deteriorating rivers and lakes &ndash; given the national pollution survey has been underway for <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2010\/02\/09\/china-pollution-census-stu_n_454657.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">two years<\/a>, the ministry must be familiar with the actual situation. But three months before the survey results were released, it was still <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/shidi.eco.gov.cn\/a\/shidixinwen\/20091104\/2758.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">saying <\/a>that China had &ldquo;stopped water pollution worsening&rdquo;. <\/p>\n<p>Why would the MEP do this? A quick look at its record over the past two years provides an answer: it was in dire need of an achievement. <\/p>\n<p>Two years ago, the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) was <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wilsoncenter.org\/index.cfm?topic_id=1421&amp;categoryid=EE5586BC-9247-863E-B7C96B9489272423&amp;fuseaction=topics.news_item_topics&amp;news_id=398452\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">upgraded <\/a>to ministry status and its powers expanded. But the department&rsquo;s actions since then have been disappointing. As a mere agency, SEPA may have been weak, but it still managed to cause a stir. It launched crackdown after crackdown &ndash; known as &ldquo;environmental storms&rdquo; &ndash; against companies that broke regulations, including <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spacedaily.com\/news\/china-05r.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the largest of hydropower firms<\/a>. It enforced regional planning restrictions, refusing to approve projects for law-breaking local governments until changes were made. It <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.accessmylibrary.com\/article-1G1-134425645\/lake-cant-lined-plastic.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">called a halt<\/a> to illegal works at Beijing&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Old_Summer_Palace\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Old Summer Palace<\/a> and held an unprecedented <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/eg.china-embassy.org\/eng\/zggk\/t274337.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">public hearing<\/a>, which became a model for public participation and democratic decision-making.<\/p>\n<p>New legal documents, the &ldquo;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/202.123.110.3\/jrzg\/2006-02\/22\/content_207093_2.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Temporary Measures for Public Participation in Environmental Impact Assessments<\/a>&rdquo; and &ldquo;Regulations on Publication of Environmental Information&rdquo;, were drafted to ensure the public&rsquo;s right to environmental information and participation. Research on environmental planning law was conducted and the concept of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.climaticoanalysis.org\/post\/china-green-gdp\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Green GDP<\/a> explored as a way of tackling China&rsquo;s worship of unbridled growth &ndash; which lies at the heart of China&rsquo;s environmental deterioration. <\/p>\n<p>All of these were significant victories, achieved by a weak government agency fighting real battles against powerful interest groups and building systems for better long-term governance. In 2007, I <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chinadialogue.net\/article\/show\/single\/en\/1117-Small-yet-brave\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote<\/a> that SEPA was little more than an unarmed weakling, yet it had already fought long and hard for the environment. Its bravery was recognised &ndash; but its weakness was also clear. It was not an independent ministry under the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/State_Council_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">State Council<\/a>, China&rsquo;s highest administrative body, and it struggled to participate in policymaking and to coordinate with other departments. It lacked executive powers and capacity. So I and many others <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chinadialogue.net\/article\/show\/single\/en\/1117-Small-yet-brave\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a>: &ldquo;If we expect this organisation to deal with the huge issues it faces, we must change the systems and legislation that surround it, and grant them increased power.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Two years ago, the agency finally became a ministry and won greater powers. It was no longer a dwarf, but a full-grown man. But, disappointingly, it has achieved little of note since then. New regulations on public participation in environmental impact assessments and the publication of environmental information have been implemented, but this work started before ministry status was awarded and work was only needed on the final stages. And <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chinadialogue.net\/article\/show\/single\/en\/1964-A-new-frontier-for-public-participation\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">new laws<\/a> governing environmental evaluations have so far failed to resolve any issues of public concern over major construction projects. <\/p>\n<p>Moreover, the &ldquo;environmental storms&rdquo; have stopped blowing, with the exception of last year&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.china.org.cn\/environment\/features_analyses\/2009-06\/22\/content_17992826.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">decision to halt<\/a> two illegal hydropower projects on the Jinsha River, south-west China. Even then, the MEP only rushed to put a stop to them after State Council leaders started to take a look at the issue of illegal projects in the area. Prior to that, the ministry had quietly approved a different dam. True, sulphur dioxide and COD levels have fallen somewhat. But how much was this the result of reduced industrial production during the economic crisis? Moreover, &ldquo;green GDP&rdquo; was <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/earth\/greenpolitics\/international\/3301207\/Chinas-green-audit-put-on-hold.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">left by the wayside<\/a>, after repeated cries of &ldquo;not ready yet&rdquo;. <\/p>\n<p>After all this, the MEP needed a success to show to its superiors and the nation. So &ldquo;worsening water pollution&rdquo; was &ndash; on paper &ndash; stopped. To be fair, the national pollution survey is a big step forward. It has provided relatively accurate data and proved that the ministry&rsquo;s own &ldquo;achievements&rdquo; are not all they may seem. <\/p>\n<p>A few days ago an American reporter asked me whether or not China was really committed to environmentally friendly development. Like her, many foreigners are confused. The idea of building an &ldquo;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cswc.jp\/lecture\/lecture.php?id=39\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ecological civilisation<\/a>&rdquo; was included in the report of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cswc.jp\/lecture\/lecture.php?id=39\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">17th Party Congress<\/a> and China&rsquo;s leaders are calling for the development of a low-carbon economy and emissions-reduction measures to combat climate change. These are all solemn undertakings. But environmental damage continues to worsen, and not only do the environmental authorities do nothing &ndash; they claim false victories. <\/p>\n<p>This does not look like environmentally friendly development. I could not answer the reporter&rsquo;s question, just like I cannot explain the ministry&rsquo;s failings over the last two years. If I had to reply, I could only say that I believe that China&rsquo;s leaders have made the decision to go down a green path, but local government and environmental authorities have not yet taken this seriously. <\/p>\n<p>\n<em>Liu Jianqiang is editor in <\/em>chinadialogue<em>&rsquo;s Beijing office. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Homepage photo of Taihu Lake by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/china\/en\/\">Greenpeace<\/a><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Revelations about the extent of China&rsquo;s pollution problems have undermined cries of victory from the environment ministry &ndash; and raised questions about its clout, argues Liu Jianqiang.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1085,"featured_media":54290,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[760],"tags":[],"hashtags":[],"country":[],"class_list":["post-28576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pollution"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A paper victory | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Revelations about the extent of China&rsquo;s pollution problems have undermined cries of victory from the environment ministry &ndash; and raised questions about its clout, argues Liu Jianqiang.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A paper victory\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Revelations about the extent of China&rsquo;s pollution problems have undermined cries of victory from the environment ministry &ndash; and raised questions about its clout, argues Liu Jianqiang.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dialogue Earth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-04-20T15:38:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-14T18:40:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/taihu_lake_water_pollution_china_2104_large2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"426\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"180\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jianqiang Liu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jianqiang Liu\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b8c515ed3f783d90495c3b8a1f541efd\"},\"headline\":\"A paper victory\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-04-20T15:38:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-14T18:40:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/\"},\"wordCount\":1406,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/taihu_lake_water_pollution_china_2104_large2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Pollution\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/\",\"name\":\"A paper victory | Dialogue Earth\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/taihu_lake_water_pollution_china_2104_large2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-04-20T15:38:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-14T18:40:02+00:00\",\"description\":\"Revelations about the extent of China&rsquo;s pollution problems have undermined cries of victory from the environment ministry &ndash; and raised questions about its clout, argues Liu Jianqiang.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/taihu_lake_water_pollution_china_2104_large2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/taihu_lake_water_pollution_china_2104_large2.jpg\",\"width\":426,\"height\":180},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A paper victory\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Dialogue Earth\",\"description\":\"Global climate and environment news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"width\":256,\"height\":256,\"caption\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_\",\"\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/\"],\"publishingPrinciples\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b8c515ed3f783d90495c3b8a1f541efd\",\"name\":\"Jianqiang Liu\",\"description\":\"Liu Jianqiang is former Beijing editor of chinadialogue. Before joining chinadialogue, Liu was a senior investigative reporter with Southern Weekend, China's most influential investigative newspaper.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/liujianqiang\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/liujianqiang\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A paper victory | Dialogue Earth","description":"Revelations about the extent of China&rsquo;s pollution problems have undermined cries of victory from the environment ministry &ndash; and raised questions about its clout, argues Liu Jianqiang.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A paper victory","og_description":"Revelations about the extent of China&rsquo;s pollution problems have undermined cries of victory from the environment ministry &ndash; and raised questions about its clout, argues Liu Jianqiang.","og_url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/","og_site_name":"Dialogue Earth","article_published_time":"2010-04-20T15:38:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-05-14T18:40:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":426,"height":180,"url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/taihu_lake_water_pollution_china_2104_large2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jianqiang Liu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/"},"author":{"name":"Jianqiang Liu","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b8c515ed3f783d90495c3b8a1f541efd"},"headline":"A paper victory","datePublished":"2010-04-20T15:38:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-05-14T18:40:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/"},"wordCount":1406,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/taihu_lake_water_pollution_china_2104_large2.jpg","articleSection":["Pollution"],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/","name":"A paper victory | Dialogue Earth","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/taihu_lake_water_pollution_china_2104_large2.jpg","datePublished":"2010-04-20T15:38:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-05-14T18:40:02+00:00","description":"Revelations about the extent of China&rsquo;s pollution problems have undermined cries of victory from the environment ministry &ndash; and raised questions about its clout, argues Liu Jianqiang.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/taihu_lake_water_pollution_china_2104_large2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/taihu_lake_water_pollution_china_2104_large2.jpg","width":426,"height":180},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/pollution\/3576-a-paper-victory\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A paper victory"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","name":"Dialogue Earth","description":"Global climate and environment news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization","name":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","width":256,"height":256,"caption":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_","","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/"],"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b8c515ed3f783d90495c3b8a1f541efd","name":"Jianqiang Liu","description":"Liu Jianqiang is former Beijing editor of chinadialogue. Before joining chinadialogue, Liu was a senior investigative reporter with Southern Weekend, China's most influential investigative newspaper.","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/liujianqiang\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/liujianqiang\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1085"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28576"},{"taxonomy":"hashtags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtags?post=28576"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=28576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}