Shandong city accused of closing businesses to lift air quality rank

To achieve an instant improvement of air quality, a district government in Linyi city, Shandong province, abused its power when it shut down or suspended a large number of restaurants, timber enterprises and parking lots for freight vehicles, the Ministry of Environment and Ecology has found.

It was the "first shot" fired in the ministry's effort to crack down on one-size-fits-all approaches used by some local governments as a way to cope with air quality inspections.

In recent years, as inadequate efforts have been made to control air pollution in Linyi, the city has ranked low in the national air quality index. Linyi was 10th from the bottom from January to June this year, and it had the lowest ranking in Shandong.