Beijing to deploy environmental police
As feelings against the authorities' alleged inaction on choking smog run high, a number of government departments finally broke their silence on the subject over the weekend, vowing to fight a war against air pollution and admitting it might take longer than expected.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), the country's health authority, assured the public at its Saturday press conference that there is no clinical evidence linking smog to cancer.
"It's too early to conclude as to what extent smog will have on health," Mao Qun'an, director of the NHFPC publicity center, was quoted as saying by news site www.ce.cn on Sunday.
The NHFPC has been studying how air pollution affects health since 2013, which covers 31 provincial areas. Recent data shows as the air pollutant density drops compared to the same period in 2013, there is no significant difference in the number of patients, according to Mao.
The NHFPC has vowed to make specific plans to help vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly, resist damage caused by smog, and to set standards for masks and air purifiers, Mao said.
There is a growing concern over the smog's impact on health, and the public is demanding the installation of air purifiers in all schools and tougher punitive measures on factories that violate environment laws.
The Beijing Municipal Education Commission said on Thursday they would launch a pilot program to install air purifiers in city kindergartens, primary schools and middle schools. The city government has also allocated funds to help the schools cover installation costs.
While many parents welcomed the decision, some remained concerned, wondering whether the air purification equipment could effectively reduce PM2.5. Others called for similar action at other cities.
"The root cause of the region's smog problems, from a long-term perspective, is an unclean industrial and energy mix, which requires big changes," said Environmental Protection Minister Chen Jining at a press conference on Friday in Beijing, reported the Xinhua News Agency.
Chen said unfavorable weather conditions and inefficient winter heating have also contributed to the lingering smog.
Echoing his concerns, the National Meteorological Center held a press conference on Saturday, saying that weather conditions have not aided in the diffusion of pollutants, which had been the main cause of the smog in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
Beijing will strengthen environmental protection in 2017 by organizing an environmental police force in its 16 districts, acting mayor Cai Qi said Saturday.
At a three-hour meeting with press and citizens on Saturday, he promised to take tougher measures to improve the city's air quality in 2017.
Information transparency
The series of meetings could be an indication that the government and the public are on the same page on smog, Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times on Sunday.
The response could also be a reflection of the complexities involved in curbing smog, Wang Hongwei, an associate professor at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.
The meeting could win the government more support and sympathy, Wang said.
Ma also said that in the current fight against smog, an information-sharing mechanism on pollutants - what he thinks is the basis for coordinating cross-region efforts against pollution - is still not in place, which hinders the implementation of anti-smog measures.
Information which should be made public includes the factories emitting the most pollutants and real-time data on their emissions, he added.
