China to severely punish environmental law violations in key river basins

BEIJING -- Chinese courts will boost judicial efforts to combat environmental law violations in the Yellow River and the Yangtze River basins, and strengthen legal accountability and penalties for such activities, according to a press conference on Thursday.

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) launched two documents at the press conference, which review the principles and judicial experience of protecting the ecological environment in the two river basins, and provide a universal standard for courts at all levels to make impartial judgments in such cases.

The SPC has stepped up judicial efforts to crack down on illegal sand-mining, fishing and solid-waste pollution in the Yangtze River basin, and to hold the perpetrators accountable, said Yang Linping, vice president of the SPC.

The SPC also stressed intensified punishments for environmental crimes such as water pollution in the Yellow River basin in accordance with the country's criminal code, and specified a range of factors that should be taken into account when dealing with Civil Code violations, Yang said.