BIZCHINA> Review & Analysis
Don't kill hens for eggs
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-19 16:12

Those preoccupied with economic growth are content to copy this model, including its lack of consideration for the environment. This indiscriminate copying could spare their investment in the treatment of discharged waste and renovation of technology for the reduction of pollutant emissions.

In the most recent arsenic poisoning in Central China's Hunan Province, the local authorities admitted to knowing that the sulphuric acid plant was discharging arsenic into the river, but thought the flowing water could thin it down. This is just one of many such incidents, in which local authorities would rather push aside environmental considerations for economic gain.

Ma Jianguo, the vice-mayor, said that local authorities had learnt the lessons from their past development mode, and environmental considerations play an important role in their development programme for the coming five years.

Such a reflection of the past should be encouraged, although it comes after more than two decades.

Far too often, we know what we are doing when we are killing the hens to get eggs, and yet we would rather regret doing so after the fact than stop immediately when we realize we are wrong.

We hope the vice-mayor's regret can wake up those localities that are killing the hens to stop their wrongdoing immediately.


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