China Policy Journal Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 2018 | Page 157

China Policy Journal
was made about four months after the
SPC’s new decision. By the end of 2013,
11 cases of environmental violations
had been subject to criminal prosecution.
In 2014, the cases handed over by
the environmental authorities to the
local police departments had doubled.
However, the number of criminal sentences
had not increased substantially
(Table 2).
Table 2. Cases of Criminal Prosecution in Guangzhou (Editing Committee 2008–2016;
Guangzhou EPB 2008–2016)
2013 2014 2015
Cases handed over to police 11 26 9
Number of convictions 3 2 2
So far, most of the prosecutions
and sentences were associated with violations
committed by small private
enterprises and no SOEs and their
managers were sued for serious illegal
pollution. But, it deserves particular
notice that two staff members, including
a Korean citizen, from a Korean
company, were jailed in 2015 because of
the illegal discharge of a large amount
of contaminants into a local river. This
was not only the first criminal penalty
against a foreign corporation, but it was
also first criminal prosecution against
foreign infringers in Guangzhou. Given
the fact that enterprises with foreign
ownerships have been enjoying favors
from the local governments, the criminal
penalties on the Korean company
signaled the strength of the new legislation
and the increasing determination
of the local enforcement agencies.
However, the improvement of
environmental legislation and the implementation
of the newly established
legal measures do not mean the disappearance
of the “enforcement gap”—
this is characterized by the disparity
between the increased law enforcement
tasks and the insufficient regulatory
resources and capacity. Although the
new laws enable the authorities to sue
and criminalize individuals responsible
for illegal pollution emissions, the environmental
authorities’ unwillingness
to transfer cases to the legal authorities,
the weak coordination between the environmental
and legal authorities, and
the lack of professional training and
qualified staffs are important barriers
to the effective enforcement of the new
legislation.
To overcome such barriers for
criminal prosecution against environmental
offenders, in January 2014, the
MEP and Ministry of Public Security
issued a specific circular calling for the
enhanced coordination between the environmental
authorities and the public
security forces in environmental law
enforcement. Soon after the statement
made by the central government, the
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