Ever since the US Embassy in Beijing began defiantly tweeting about the city's poor air quality, air pollution has become a top concern for Beijing residents. And yet, city authorities have decided that protecting Beijing's environment is not as important as safeguarding the city against foreign spies.
The Beijing department of environmental protection recently announced revised regulations in order to incentivize more Beijing residents to report crimes that harm the environment. Reports of tampering with environmental monitoring equipment or the spillage of radioactive waste can earn residents cash rewards of up to RMB 50,000 (USD 7,240).
By contrast, Beijing authorities announced earlier this month that tipoffs about foreign espionage can be worth up to RMB 500,000 (USD 72,400), ten times the amount of the environment protection reward.
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The revised rewards for reporting environmental crimes only concern the first two tiers of the incentives, which have risen from 100 to 200 yuan and from 2,000 to 3,000 yuan, respectively. The top prize of RMB 50,000 has been unchanged from last year as does the second-place reward of RMB 5,000.
Residents who want to report an environmental crime are required to provide their real name and personal information. According to Du Fengjun, the director of the complaint office for the department, real names are necessary in order to verify the situation as well as to properly give out the cash rewards.
In the same way, Beijing residents also have to provide their real name when reporting on suspected spies. However, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of State Security reassures residents that they are eligible to receive state protection should they ever feel like their safety is being threatened. Moreover, the Bureau of State Security has said any of its members who divulge personal information will be legally responsible.
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City authorities are well aware of how important maintaining a clean environment is to city residents.
When a new "smog police" squad was rolled out this past January, Beijing mayor Cai Qi was quoted as saying: "I totally understand the public's concerns and complaints over air pollution," and further admitted he routinely checks the air quality index "first thing in the morning."
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The World Health Organization attributed 1,032,833 deaths in China in 2012 as being the result of air pollution.
The revised environmental protection incentives comes as the Chinese public are expressing anger at the recent discovery of a massive group of acid pits located near Beijing that cover some 350,000 square meters.
Located in the Hebei village of Nanzhaofu, the waste water is thought to have been there for years, and is suspected to have contaminated the groundwater below.
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