From the AP, via CBC: A Chinese city of 480,000 people has become the latest community to shut down a water plant as river-borne toxins from an industrial accident flowed toward it, an official said Saturday. The shutdown Friday in Jiamusi came as China’s chief environmental regulator resigned, taking the blame for the Nov. 13 […]
Read MoreFrom Xinhua: China’s cabinet on Friday approved the resignation of Xie Zhenhua, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), following a chemical spill that has seriously polluted the country’s northeastern Songhua River. “Xie submitted a resignation request to the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council. The request has been […]
Read MoreFrom Asia Times Online: But little was said or done to alert the rural communities in numerous towns and villages along the Songhua between Jilin and Harbin about the dangerous chemicals flowing in the water. The authorities have offered no estimates on how many people rely on the river for drinking water. After the news […]
Read MoreFrom the Straits Times: A blast at a PetroChina plant in north-eastern Jilin province on Nov 13 spilt 100 tonnes of benzene into the Songhua River. Officials waited nine days before they cut Harbin’s water supply and claimed initially that it was for maintenance. They acknowledged the massive water pollution only later. All responsible parties […]
Read MoreFrom Business Week: As the recent benzene spill shows, worsening pollution increasingly endangers Chinese citizens, and their spreading anger is worrying Beijing. The 50-mile long slick of highly poisonous benzene and nitrobenzene clogging China’s Songhua River finally cleared the city of Harbin on Nov. 27, and drinking water was turned back on for the far […]
Read MoreFrom AP, via CBS News: Despite tap water being turned back on in Harbin, the Chinese city whose water was turned off for five days after being polluted with a toxic cocktail of chemicals, residents are wary. And the spill ” which includes cancer-causing benzene ” will remain frozen in the Songhua River until spring, […]
Read MoreFrom the Economist: A public apology from China is an exceptionally rare event. But as a slick of toxic water makes its way along the half-frozen Songhua River towards the Russian city of Khabarovsk, the country’s leadership is saying sorry. This is not, however, to be read as a sign of an imminent end to […]
Read MoreFrom The Financial Times: In September, China’s central government announced that death tolls from natural disasters would no longer be classified as state secrets. The initiative, announced appropriately enough by the National Administration of State Secrets, was presented as partial fulfilment of the government’s long-standing pledge to improve transparency. The shadowy body oversees the classification […]
Read MoreFrom The Washington Post: I Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao made an unannounced visit to this beleaguered city Saturday to pledge his support as a long slick of toxic river water continued moving through town. But he offered no explanation for the government’s attempt to cover up a chemical spill that has left millions here without […]
Read MoreFrom The Chicago Sun-Times: China’s leaders sent a team to investigate a chemical plant accident that poisoned a major river, saying officials responsible will be punished, as the 3.8 million residents of this northeastern city endured a fourth frigid day without running water Saturday. Hundreds of villagers were being evacuated near Harbin on the Songhua […]
Read More
Click on the image to download Firefly for circumvention
CDT is a non-profit media site, and we need your support. Your contribution will help us provide more translations, breaking news, and other content you love.
