China's top environmental regulator was fired on Friday after widespread criticism of the government's initial cover-up of a chemical spill into the Songhua River that forced the shutdown of the water supply in Harbin.
The removal of Xie Zhenhua (
After an explosion on Nov. 13 at a petrochemical plant in Jilin City, officials tried to hide the fact that tons of benzene and nitrobenzene had been dumped into the river.
"After this major water pollution incident occurred, the SEPA has failed to pay sufficient attention to the incident and has underestimated its possible serious impact," according to a joint statement issued by the state council and the Chinee Communist Party's Central Committee, and quoted by the official New China News Agency.
"It should bear due responsibility for the losses caused by this incident."
Xie, who offered his resignation, is the highest-ranking official ever removed from his position for an environmental accident.
State media emphasized that his firing reflected rising governmental concerns about environmental degradation and the need to improve official accountability.
But the question is whether other officials will be fired, including those at the factory, a subsidiary of the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp.
In addition, officials in Jilin Province initially lied about the chemical spill and the dangers it presented to cities and rural communities downstream on the Songhua.
The government's joint circular ordered that an investigation continue into the causes of the explosion and the spill, and vowed to "seriously punish those responsible."
new head
Xie's replacement is Zhou Shengxian (
Meanwhile, Jiamusi city shut down its No. 7 Water Plant on the Songhua River on Friday, fearing contamination from approaching toxic chemicals, a city official said yesterday.
The benzene is expected to reach Jiamusi, a city of about 480,000 people, on Tuesday, according to the government.
The Xinhua news agency said the plant supplies 70-80 percent of the city's drinking water.
Jiamusi is the second-biggest Chinese city to have been affected by the spill.
Jiamusi also has access to deep wells that won't be affected by the contamination and so should be able to continue to supply drinking water, said a woman who answered the phone at its water company. She wouldn't give her name.
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
A MESSAGE: Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drills is a clear deterrence signal to China not to attack Taiwan while the US is busy in the Middle East, an analyst said The Japan Self-Defense Forces yesterday fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during a joint maritime exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces, hitting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, in drills that underscore Tokyo’s rising willingness to project military power on China’s doorstep. The drill took place as Manila and Tokyo began talks on a potential defense equipment transfer, made possible by Japan’s decision to scrap restrictions on military exports. The discussions include the possible early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft to the Philippines, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. Philippine Secretary of
‘GROSS NEGLIGENCE?’ Despite a spleen typically being significantly smaller than a liver, the surgeon said he believed Bryan’s spleen was ‘double the size of what is normal’ A Florida surgeon who is facing criminal charges after allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen has said he is “forever traumatized” by that person’s death. In a deposition from November last year that was recently obtained by NBC, 44-year-old Thomas Shaknovsky described the death of 70-year-old William Bryan as an “incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply.” Bryan died after the botched surgery; and last month, a grand jury in Tallahassee indicted Shaknovsky on a charge of manslaughter. “I’m forever traumatized by it and hurt by it,” Shaknovsky added, also saying that wrong-site surgeries can happen “during
A South Korean judge who last week more than doubled former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee’s prison sentence was found dead yesterday, police said. Shin Jong-o was found unconscious at about 1am at the Seoul High Court building, an investigator at the Seocho District Police Station in Seoul said. Shin was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, he said. “There is no sign of foul play in the death,” the investigator added. Local media reported that Shin had left a suicide note, but the investigator said there was none. On Tuesday last week, Shin presided over 53-year-old Kim’s appeal trial, finding her guilty
RSS