Chinese prosecution organs filed 9,470 public interest litigation cases involving ecological protection from January to December 2018, according to the State Council Information Office (SCIO) at a press conference on Thursday.

File photos: VCG

15,095 people suspected of damaging the protection of environmental resources were arrested, and 26,287 cases were prosecuted, Zhang Xueqiao, deputy procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), said in a press release in Beijing. 

Since 2018, the Supreme People's Procuratorate has released notices and implemented measures to improve ecological environment management.

Working together with nine departments including the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the SPP circulated a cooperation plan to fight pollution. 

The SPP also explored the possibility of establishing a cross-provincial administrative-level public interest litigation mechanism with the 11 provinces and cities along the Yangtze River.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Water Resources and the SPP initiated the Yellow River Conservancy Commission jointly organized with the 9 provinces. 

From 2016 to 2017, the central environmental protection inspector completed inspection of 31 provinces, and resolved the environmental problems of over 70,000 people, Bie Tao, head of the Policy and Law Department at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said. 

During the central environmental inspector’s review in 2018, 103 cases were selected for further rectification, Bie said. 

Thirty-two local leaders from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and government were required to beef up their work in environment protection. Party leaders are now shouldering the roles and responsibilities. If they fail to fulfill their ecological protection responsibilities, government and political disciplines will be carried out, he added.