SOE subsidiaries not free from pollution control responsibilities
YUNNAN XIANFENG CHEMICAL INDUSTRY CO LTD, Southwest China's Yunnan province, was recently fined 100,000 yuan ($15,000) for failing to take effective measures to curb its pollution. This means the company, co-sponsored by two State-owned enterprises (Yunnan Coal Chemical Industry Group and China Three Gorges Corporation), has received such a punishment for three consecutive years. Beijing New commented on Friday:
It is appalling that the SOE subsidiary has been listed as a key provincial enterprise. Even more so, that it has shown little interest in curbing the pollution it generates.
On the one hand, the Yunnan environmental protection authorities have failed to rein in the "fearless" polluter, because the punishment has not been severe enough - 100,000 yuan is peanuts to such an enterprise, whose overall profits are made at the cost of the local environment and residents' well-being.
