MARIT STINUS-CABUGON
THE Chinese government closed thousands of polluting factories and shut down coal-fired power plants late last year in order to meet the targets of its 2013-2017 Air Pollution Action Plan. The action plan was hatched in 2013 when China faced its worst air pollution ever. Consequently, thousands of government officials who failed to enforce environmental laws “are being held accountable for environmental damage,” China Daily reported on July 9.