2011年7月30日
On the Causes of the Growing Environmental Awareness among Mainland China Citizens

Meng Xiangxi

If you are looking at mainland China from a satellite’s view and you are amazed to see the lights in homes of many Chinese cities are still off, although it is 21:00 Beijing time already. Well, that will probably happen on the last Saturday of March every year, and on that day, people in many Chinese cities and towns will turn off their lights to immerse themselves in the tender night during the Earth Hour, which is a manifestation of the determination that we, as the earth’s citizens, once united, will eventually save the planet from environmental disasters. (Earth Hour, 2009) Such activity has received massive support only in recent years, which reflects a magnificent change in Chinese people’s (mainland China residents’, especially) awareness of the environment. The growing awareness of environmental issues in Mainland China may result from a number of significant changes, including the deterioration of the environmental situation in cities and countryside, the increased expectation of living standards of people, and the establishment of the specific government departments and ENGOs (Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations).

First of all, accompanying the dramatic growth of the economy and industries in China over the past 30 years, the worsening of the Chinese environmental situation is becoming a real threat to the citizens’ health and sense of well-being, which rouses a strong sense of awareness among people in the cities. In fact, most Chinese metropolises face very serious environmental crisis. According to the State Environmental Protection Administration, the emission of a major air pollutant of sulfur dioxide has seen a yearly increase of 1.5 percent, with the amount of sewage discharge undergoing a similar expansion. The Administration also released that in the year 2006 alone, there were 45 cases of solid waste pollution in mainland China. (Xinhua, 2007. The department is currently called Ministry of Environmental Protection.) Such situation, especially the solid waste crisis, results in the dissent and even unrests among the Chinese city dwellers. In the year 2009 alone, there were many demonstrations against the unguaranteed proposal of solid waste, and the construction of 5 incineration stations were held up consequently in all across the nation. For example, in the capital city of Beijing, local residents were astonished when they learned that the government was planning to build an incineration facility in their community of Asuwei without consulting their opinions, and they managed to hold a peaceful but illegal protest against it. (Zhai, 2010) Although their case has been settled as a new proposal is accepted by all the stakeholders, there are still a lot of disputes in other places. So it is evident that as the pollution situation continues, more and more Chinese citizens start to realize that the environmental issues really matter, and start to pursue their right.

And this does not happen in the cities alone. Apart from the cities, the destruction of the environment is even more serious in the countryside, and the contradiction between the environment and human beings is even more severe, which gives rise to a new round of enlightenment of rural citizens. Actually, though less discussed, the crisis the rural areas face is as serious as cities do, if not more. About 15 years ago, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Development Program, and the Ministry of Agriculture of China (FAO, UNDP and MoA1997), farmers in China could only use substandard irrigation water for 1.4 million hectors of their farmland. United States Enforcement Bureau (USEB 1997; Mei 1992) alleged that the area of farmland which has been contaminated by the heavy metal (including the non-metal of arsenic) is about ten to twenty million hectors. (Xu, 1999) Years have passed and the situation only developed from bad to worse. Angry rural residents have no choice but to defend their right. Every year, there are many cases of environmental destructions and lawsuits in rural China, and what is more serious, some people have to choose to violently protest against the government. InThe Warriors of Qiugang, a video coverage nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary, a real scene of environmental dispute in a central China village was recorded. (e360, 2010) Though the film is ideologically and culturally biased and has received very bad comments from China, it clearly shows that the Chinese people are realizing the importance of a harmonious environment. As a (presumably) western viewer commented on the website of the film, “even people in China are passionate about the environment.”(Louise, 2011) But in my own experience, the Chinese agriculture population should be guided while they are forming their concept of environmental awareness, for in the unique case of China, farmers tend to be careless about the environment unless their sense of environmental security is affected. The reason is that the living standard of the rural residents in most place of China is far lower than that of the urban residents, and their prime concern is to be better-off. So they tend to view the environmental destruction as the dereliction of the government, rather than the shared duty of the whole society. To conclude, the worsening environmental situation stimulates everyone directly or indirectly involved, and they inevitably receive the education or self-education on environmental awareness.

On the contrary to the deteriorating environmental situation nationwide, the people’s expectation of living standards has increased so much. The soaring car ownership and the oil consumption are very convincing facts.

In the past several years, another notable change that took place is the establishment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the burgeoning of so many ENGOs. As for the central government, in the year 2008, the Ministry of Environmental Protection was established to substitute the former State Environmental Protection Administration. The new ministry is said to be more powerful in the State Council than the old administration, which shows a stronger concern of the central government on environmental issues. (Xinhua, 2008) Besides the official reform of the governmental departments, many grass root groups have also been founded. Since the first such civil organization set up in the year 1993, numerous ENGOs appeared all across the country. The earliest and most famous Friend of Nature was set up by a group of pioneering environmentalists and activists in their congregation in a park in Beijing. (FON website, accessed 2011) They carry out all kinds of programs to help China fight the environmental deterioration, and are widely supported by the civilian. Though they have undergone a period of skepticism and discrimination from the government, they are now booming, with over 10000 members all over China. To add to them is the rapid growth of the student environmental groups. The registered student environmental groups in mainland China saw a sudden growth from 22 in 1997 to 184 in 2003, and many more have been set up till now. (Roode, 2003)  Virtually every college and university has its own environmental protection group. Some schools have more than one. The university students are active members of the environmental protection programs in China, and they really make a difference. These departments and organizations have done much to promote the awareness of the Chinese citizens, and their existence illustrates the point that the awareness of the Chinese on environmental issues is stressed.

As we can clearly see, the Chinese people are now awakening with strong, though not full awareness of the environmental issues. This is brought about by serious pollution itself, the higher expectation of living standards, and the endeavor of many organizations together. I never doubt that, in the 21st century, Chinese people will eventually come into realization, what’s more, they will take action to solve all the problems, and the world will share the benefit of a healthy environment in mainland China!

Reference

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