Corruption Stunting China's Attempts To Improve Its Environment - ENN

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BEIJING — China's top environmental official has blamed corruption for frustrating environmental protection efforts and worsening the country's already severely polluted air and waterways, state media reported Tuesday. "Illegal small chemical plants, paper and leather mills are still being set up," Zhou Shengxian, director of China's State Environmental Protection Administration, was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency. "Many outdated technologies, which should have been replaced, are still in use."

Chinese cities are among the world's smoggiest following two decades of breakneck economic growth. The government says all of China's major rivers are dangerously polluted. Millions of people lack access to clean drinking water.

Zhou said in a report to China's legislature that some local government leaders directly interfere in environmental law enforcement by threatening to remove, demote and retaliate against environmental officials, Xinhua said. "The failure to abide by the law, lax law enforcement, and allowing lawbreakers to go free are still serious problems in many places," Zhou was quoted as saying. Xinhua did not say when the report was delivered.

Separately on Tuesday, Xinhua paraphrased President Hu Jintao as saying that China needed to focus more attention on energy efficiency and environmental protection.

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