Linfen mayor summoned over pollution

Top officials in Linfen, Shanxi province, have been summoned by the country's top environmental authority due to their poor performance in controlling sulfur dioxide pollution, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection has suspended approving new projects in the city.

The ministry summoned the city's leaders, including Mayor Liu Yuqiang, on Thursday, while suspending the granting of environmental impact assessments for projects in the city as punishment for their poor performance in air pollution control.

Linfen has been put in the spotlight due to its frequent alarmingly high concentrations of sulfur dioxide, which have exceeded 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter four times since Jan 4, based on data from the China National Environmental Monitoring Center.