Newest standards aided crackdown on illegal emissions

China's environmental watchdog has investigated 1.41 million companies suspected of polluting the environment since the new environmental protection law was implemented at the beginning of last year.

Environmental authorities found 46,800 companies with illegal waste-discharging activities and 63,700 with illegal construction projects. A total of 47,000 were fined and 17,000 were shut down, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

"The newly revised law has imposed strict controls on various polluting sources, and clear emission limits for different pollutants provide the ministry with solid legal support to take harsh enforcement measures," said Vice-Minister Pan Yue.