BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) Friday criticized Changchun city in northeast China's Jilin Province for not doing enough to cope with air pollution.In the first 10 months of this year, air quality in Changchun saw continuous degradation, with the amount of time with serious pollution increasing by 7 days compared to the same period last year, while days with good air quality decreased by 22, according to an MEP statement.The inspectors found some of the city's air quality indicators were "extremely high" for a long period of time.Changchun was criticized for outdoor straw burning and not implementing emergency responses strictly, the statement said.Several companies in the city were also criticized by the ministry for breaching emission rules.Additionally, 25 development zones in the city lagged behind in upgrading coal-fired boilers and some companies in the zones lacked desulfurization facilities.The city should submit plans to address the problems to the inspectors within 20 working days, the ministry said.China is intensifying efforts to fight pollution and environmental degradation after decades of growth left the country saddled with problems such as smog and contaminated soil.A total of 6,471 officials in eight provincial-level regions were held accountable for environmental damage after inspections by central authorities from August to September.Tackling pollution has been listed as one of "the three tough battles" that China aims to win in the next three years, according to the Central Economic Work Conference, which concluded earlier this week. festival braceletswristbands comballer bandsblack rubber braceletshow to make rubber braceletsmotivational bracelets for athletes
Naval vessel entered Chinese waters near Xisha Islands without permission Beijing urged the United States to stop its "wrong behavior" after a US naval vessel was warned away from China's territorial waters off the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea on Tuesday. The Chafee, a US guided-missile destroyer, made an unauthorized entry into the nation's territorial waters, the defense and foreign ministries said on Wednesday. China dispatched a guided-missile frigate, two fighter jets and a helicopter "in an emergency response" and warned the US ship to leave, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. China is "resolutely opposed" to the unauthorized entry, and has lodged "solemn representations" to the US, according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. "The Xisha Islands are China's inherent territory," Hua said. The Chinese government announced the baseline of the territorial sea off the islands in 1996 under the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone. "The US military vessel's behavior violated China's law and international law, which severely impaired China's sovereignty and security interests and threatened the safety of the front-line personnel of both sides," Hua said. China urged the US to respect China's sovereignty and security interests, as well as the efforts that countries in the region have made to maintain peace in the South China Sea, Hua added. The unauthorized entry, which the Defense Ministry said "will easily trigger accidents", came after another US naval vessel entered China's territorial waters near the islands without the permission in July. The Chinese military will improve its defense capacities "against the US military's repeated provocations", the Defense Ministry said. Zhang Junshe, a researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said the unauthorized entry undermines peace in the South China Sea, as well as the international maritime order. The situation in the sea has been stabilizing as parties involved have agreed to solve disputes peacefully through talks, and the US is being a "troublemaker" by making such unauthorized entries, Zhang said.
