130
G. Qu
What I am concerned about is how to realize this transformation and how to do it
well.
1 Moving from a New Starting Point to a New Stage
in the Continuous Self-reform
Regarding environmental protection, China has markedly different characteristics
from those of developed countries. In the industrialization, developed countries
neglected environmental protection, leading to pollution. Later, they had to deal with
the pollution at a high cost. Premier Zhou Enlai had been far-sighted, pointing out time
and again that China, a developing country, should learn from lessons of developed
countries and start protecting the environment before pollution become serious, so
as to avoid following their old path of “pollution before treatment.” However, people
lacked the experience of pollution in developed countries, especially in the chaos of
the “cultural revolution.” It was difficult to accept the idea of environmental protection. Some believed that pollution was a product of capitalism, and did not exist in
socialist China; some argued what was the most important and urgent was to thrive
the economy; and others held that “treatment after pollution” was a rule and China
was no exception. Despite these interruptions, Premier Zhou worked to promote environmental protection and establish the “National Environmental Protection Office”
under the Environmental Protection Leading Group of the State Council. I was then
deputy director of the Office. That was a temporary agency under the leadership
of Premier Zhou and the State Council, so it was quite influential. At that time,
environmental protection departments were weak and short-staffed. Although they
did their utmost to promote environmental protection, they were unable to prevent
environmental pollution and ecological damage. They followed the path of treating
pollution and restoring environment as they went along, raising the public awareness of environmental protection in this process. For a long time, environmental
regulators had been passive in their work. That is why I have the sentiment that Sisyphus repeatedly pushes a rock up the slope. In fact, what we are pushing is not the
cold boulder of unchanging size. The environmental protection we have promoted
is a daunting task. Even when we are frustrated, such an effort, not the boulder, is
moving from a new starting point to a new stage. With deep insight, the director of
an environmental protection agency in a provincial capital city said: “Environmental
protection, a magical field always changing and reforming itself, has been advancing
slowly, difficult but charming.”
Sisyphus was punished by the gods and had to “engage in futile and hopeless
work.” But it reveals a higher fidelity that lifts up the boulder and denies the gods.
“It drives the gods out of this world. It makes of fate a human matter, which must
be settled among men.” From this point of view, the spirit of fearlessness and hard
struggle expressed in the myths of ancient China, such as the foolish old man Yu
Gong removing the mountains, the bird Jingwei trying to fill the sea, the goddess
G. Qu
What I am concerned about is how to realize this transformation and how to do it
well.
1 Moving from a New Starting Point to a New Stage
in the Continuous Self-reform
Regarding environmental protection, China has markedly different characteristics
from those of developed countries. In the industrialization, developed countries
neglected environmental protection, leading to pollution. Later, they had to deal with
the pollution at a high cost. Premier Zhou Enlai had been far-sighted, pointing out time
and again that China, a developing country, should learn from lessons of developed
countries and start protecting the environment before pollution become serious, so
as to avoid following their old path of “pollution before treatment.” However, people
lacked the experience of pollution in developed countries, especially in the chaos of
the “cultural revolution.” It was difficult to accept the idea of environmental protection. Some believed that pollution was a product of capitalism, and did not exist in
socialist China; some argued what was the most important and urgent was to thrive
the economy; and others held that “treatment after pollution” was a rule and China
was no exception. Despite these interruptions, Premier Zhou worked to promote environmental protection and establish the “National Environmental Protection Office”
under the Environmental Protection Leading Group of the State Council. I was then
deputy director of the Office. That was a temporary agency under the leadership
of Premier Zhou and the State Council, so it was quite influential. At that time,
environmental protection departments were weak and short-staffed. Although they
did their utmost to promote environmental protection, they were unable to prevent
environmental pollution and ecological damage. They followed the path of treating
pollution and restoring environment as they went along, raising the public awareness of environmental protection in this process. For a long time, environmental
regulators had been passive in their work. That is why I have the sentiment that Sisyphus repeatedly pushes a rock up the slope. In fact, what we are pushing is not the
cold boulder of unchanging size. The environmental protection we have promoted
is a daunting task. Even when we are frustrated, such an effort, not the boulder, is
moving from a new starting point to a new stage. With deep insight, the director of
an environmental protection agency in a provincial capital city said: “Environmental
protection, a magical field always changing and reforming itself, has been advancing
slowly, difficult but charming.”
Sisyphus was punished by the gods and had to “engage in futile and hopeless
work.” But it reveals a higher fidelity that lifts up the boulder and denies the gods.
“It drives the gods out of this world. It makes of fate a human matter, which must
be settled among men.” From this point of view, the spirit of fearlessness and hard
struggle expressed in the myths of ancient China, such as the foolish old man Yu
Gong removing the mountains, the bird Jingwei trying to fill the sea, the goddess