Lawmakers urge harsher punishment on air polluters

BEIJING -- Chinese lawmakers on Saturday asked to speed up revisions to the country's air pollution prevention and control law, suggesting heavier punishment to air polluters.

The existing law is too lenient for air polluters and the revision should focus on the increasing of punishments, said Ji Zhenhai, a lawmaker with the Hebei Provincial People's Congress, the local legislature, at a symposium held in Beijing.

"Only when enterprises pay a heavy price for polluting the air can they become more self-driven to abide by the law," Ji said, adding the revised law should further specify punitive measures to accelerate law enforcement.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the top legislature, plans to revise the air pollution law this year, according to the meeting. The law, adopted in 1987, has been revised twice in 1995 and 2000.

The NPC Standing Committee on Thursday passed long-delayed revisions to the Environmental Protection Law, the country's fundamental environment law, which allows heavier punishment for polluters.

Wang Bingjie, a lawmaker from Liaoning Province, also underlined the urgency of heavier penalty for air polluters, saying the revised law should have specific articles and provisions in regard to air quality, emissions and relevant punishments.

If offenders' behaviors constitute crimes, they should be held criminally responsible, Wang added.