Monitoring system gets an upgrade

Improvements to prevent fraudulent behavior in environmental protection

China is revising its environmental monitoring regulations to prevent officials from interfering or falsifying data, a move taken after authorities were recently exposed for spraying mist near stations to improve air quality readings.

The Regulation on Environmental Monitoring and Management will be updated to strengthen the rules, "providing a stronger tool for environmental authorities to punish violations", Liu Zhiquan, head of the monitoring department at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said on Wednesday.