Companies, officials punished for failure to control pollution

China has been strengthening its environmental oversight under a revised law, shutting down 9,300 companies and suspending work at another 15,000 in the first six months of the year.

A revised Environmental Protection Law with more "teeth" took effect on Jan 1, holding more officials and company managers account-able for violations, and stipulating that governments shoulder the major responsibility for protecting and improving the environment.

In the first half of the year, environmental watchdogs inspected more than 620,000 companies.