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China
Struggles to Balance Economy with Environment |
Posted:
12.07.05
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In its rush to modernize, China is struggling to balance the
demands of a booming economy with growing environmental concerns.
This struggle recently erupted onto front pages around the world
after a chemical explosion poisoned a major waterway.
Printer-friendly versions: PDF
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An explosion last month at a chemical factory in Jilin, a city
in northeastern China, released about 100 tons of toxic chemicals,
including cancer causing benzene, into the Songhua River.
The chemical slick has traveled downriver towards Russia and
threatens to poison the water supply of ten million.
In the Chinese city of Harbin, a city of 3.8 million people about
250 miles from the accident, the water supply has been shut off
and people wait in long lines to receive water sent in from neighboring
regions.
"We are now frugal with water," a woman from Harbin
tells Salon. "First we use it to clean vegetables, then to
wash our hands, and finally to flush the toilet."
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International
impact |
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The Songhua River in China flows into the Heilong River which
becomes the Amur River in Russia.
 Officials
expect the chemicals to arrive in the Russian city of Khabarovsk
by Dec. 10 or 11.
The Russian Far East city of 580,000 is bracing for water shortages
and even heat shortages, as the city uses a centralized heating
system in which hot water is piped through radiators.
Many don't trust that their government will protect them. Some
liken the event to when the Chernobyl Nuclear plant exploded in
Ukraine in 1986, once part of the former Soviet Union. It is considered
the worst nuclear accident in history. The Soviet government was
accused of trying to cover up the accident which ended up killing
some 50 people and exposing thousands to harmful radiation.
"People remember Chernobyl, when the government didn't say
anything for days or warn residents," regional government
spokeswoman Natalya Zimina told the Associated Press.
The United States has announced that it is sending experts to
help China cope with the toxic spill as it reaches the Russian
border.
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Government
response |
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After initially trying to downplay the environmental disaster
by sending in water trucks covered with banners proclaiming how
well the government is treating the people, Chinese officials
are now admitting that some in the government acted improperly.
The country's chief environmental official, Xie Zhenhua, quit
his post Friday and accepted responsibility for the spill.
 Complicating
the matter, Xie's chief deputy Wang Yuqing said local Jilin officials
initially failed to report the factory accident, which prevented
the spill from being better controlled, the China Daily reported.
Some regional leaders gave "tacit consent to the discharge
of pollutants into rivers in the pursuit of economic growth,"
Wang said.
However, no local officials have yet to be punished and Xie remains
a member of the Communist Party's Central Committee - the inner
circle that controls much of the nation's political power.
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Booming economy
vs. a clean and safe environment |
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China's economy is growing rapidly following market reforms that
allowed a shift from pure communist market ideas to a blend of
more socialist and capitalist market ideas.
But that growth has impacted negatively on the environment and
the safety of workers. According to official statistics, 350 Chinese
die daily in industrial accidents. But the true number may be
much higher.
An explosion at a state-owned coal mine in Qitaihe, in northeastern
China, killed 171 miners in late November.
In response to the latest blast, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao
criticized the coal industry.
"The various safety measures we've formulated haven't been
really implemented, and many of them are no more than passed down
or repeated orally," he said.
 Despite
government assurances that mine safety will improve, families
of miners killed in Qitaihe are resigned that their dangerous
life will continue.
"There's nothing we can do about it," former miner
and the father of a killed miner told the Associated Press. "We
need to work, and the work is dangerous. We need to get on with
life."
As China's economy continues to expand at a record pace, the
central government in Beijing must face the growing dangers its
own success are posing to the nation's workers and environment.
--
Compiled by Annie Schleicher for NewsHour Extra
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Like many Californians, I live in a town where teenagers drive to school in gas-guzzling SUVs and pick-up trucks just because they want to look powerful and extravagant.
