A government plan on energy conservation and pollution control should be strictly implemented, says a signed article in Jiefang Daily. An excerpt follows:

The energy conservation and pollution control plan made by the municipal government of Haining, Zhejiang Province, has met with resistance from scores of enterprises in a local industrial park.

This absurd case shows the enterprises' lack of social responsibility and the plight of administrative enforcement.

The power conservation plan designed for the Haining Xucun Industrial Park is quite a necessary one. Most of the 110 boilers owned by 82 enterprises in the industrial park are of low efficiency and high pollution. The water quality in this area has been categorized at the lowest level for years. The plan is just a rational choice for the long-term interest of this area and the sustainable development of this noted textile production base.

But the plan is boycotted by many enterprises. More pathetically, local government could do nothing when the plan was resisted.

Some attributed the resistance to the plan to enterprises not being involved in the policy-making procedures.

But a more important reason is that local government is indecisive in enforcement and hesitates between different interests. The punishments are not severe enough to stop enterprises from breaking the law.

The local economic development plan, once approved by the people's congress and the government, cannot be changed easily and should be treated seriously. The enterprises' sense of social responsibility is needed to implement energy conservation and pollution control. More importantly, the government should respect the plan, and safeguard its authority with strict enforcement.

(China Daily August 15, 2006)