Poison to quench thirst

It is absurd and unimaginable for a provincial environmental protection department to keep the names of polluting enterprises a secret at a meeting on pollution control.

It is undoubtedly an affront for reporters to be told that Helongjiang provincial environmental department considers the information confidential.

Not only that, what this pollution control watchdog in northeastern China has done is against the regulations on disclosure of government information that took effect last May. It is specified in the regulations that such information concerning environmental protection, food safety, workplace safety and consumer goods quality must be timely made public.