Ecologically harmful projects should be stopped

THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION is reported to have recently issued an official letter to Chongqing municipality, requiring it to stop constructing Xiaonanhai hydropower station, which has aroused controversy since the plan was raised in the 1990s, because it might harm the ecology and violate the natural protection area in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Comments:

China has long had a Law on Environmental Impact Assessment. The key problem lies in leading local officials blindly pursuing GDP growth and simply ignoring the environmental departments. The recent move by the Ministry of Environmental Protection shows the central authorities are paying attention to building an ecological civilization. Hopefully, now that society has rallied enough consensus on environmental protection, the days when officials allowed and initiated construction programs at the cost of the ecology and environment are gone.

People's Daily, April 13