Local govts can never override the rule of law

ON DEC 7, the local environmental protection bureau of Quyang county, North China's Hebei province, said on its official WeChat public account that two local residents were detained for burning low-quality coal. Beijing News comments:

The incident aroused fierce criticism online, with many questioning the decision of the Quyang authorities, asking what law had the two residents broken.

In the face of the angry public response, the Quyang authorities responded by saying that the two residents were detained because they continued to use "bad quality" coal after being instructed to stop.