Poor-performing officials punished

The central government's environmental inspection efforts continue to press local governments forward, as 1,140 officials in eight provincial regions received punishments for poor performance in environmental protection, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Thursday.

The high-level inspection teams, sent by the State Council, China's Cabinet, visited eight provincial-level jurisdictions in July 2016. That first effort covered Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Henan and Yunnan provinces, and the Inner Mongolia, Guangxi Zhuang and Ningxia Hui autonomous regions.

After the monthlong inspections, the provincial governments continued to investigate the pollution cases identified by the inspectors, as well as another 100 major problems involving environmental damage. Results were released on Thursday.