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B. Zhang
one body. As a developing region, it is probably not advisable to finish off all backward productive forces with a single blow. According to Confucius, “execute people
without having given them instruction is called cruelty.” If the government follows
a laissez-faire policy and even protect the backward companies in normal times, but
adopts draconian measures to “cut one’s arm to save one’s body” and forcefully shut
down companies. It would be nothing less than “tyranny.”
Regarding the backward production mode lagging behind the times, it’s not advisable for the developing regions to adopt a laissez-faire policy and protect the backward companies, or finish off the backward companies in a single blow. Instead, it’s
advisable to proceed from the actual situations, create conditions for transformation,
improvement and enhancement, and gradually transform it into an advanced and
applicable production mode. The practice in Shandong Province shows that as long
as we change our concepts and formulate scientific and reasonable guiding standards,
we can effectively promote backward industries to optimize their industrial structure,
improve production processes, and overcome obstacles of resource and environment.
In this way, the backward industries in the traditional sense can rise from the ashes
and embark on a path of high-quality development.
2. Scientific and strict environmental protection measures will not hinder
economic development, but play an important role in promoting highquality development during the transition period
Shandong Province has formulated local environmental standards for the paper
industry that are stricter than the national standards, arousing strong repercussions
inside and outside the province. There were two typical views in opposition to the
practice. One is that Shandong Province is placing itself under greater pressure by
applying much more rigorous standards than the national standards. It will inevitably
lead to the failure of the paper industry of Shandong Province in market competition.
The other holds that the economic and technical feasibility of the industry should be
a top consideration in the formulation of standards. The survey at the time suggested
that 85% of papermaking companies could not meet the third-stage standard, making
the standards meaningless in practice. These two views may sound quite reasonable,
but it’s exactly such ostensibly correct views that constitute the ideological barrier
that we need to break through in the industrial transformation and restructuring. It is
wrong to regard the economic and technical feasibility of corporate pollution control
as a prerequisite for decision-making, in disregard of the necessity of safeguarding
public health and ecological safety, the inevitable law of economic and social development, and the role of environmental protection to force the optimization of polluting
industries.
3. A win–win situation for economy and environment requires a strategy that
integrates the necessity, predictability, guidance and compulsion
In practice, promoting a win–win situation for economy and environment is often
caught in some “dilemmas” and has to go through a painful process to rise from the
ashes. Based on lessons drawn from the practice in Shandong Province, the author
B. Zhang
one body. As a developing region, it is probably not advisable to finish off all backward productive forces with a single blow. According to Confucius, “execute people
without having given them instruction is called cruelty.” If the government follows
a laissez-faire policy and even protect the backward companies in normal times, but
adopts draconian measures to “cut one’s arm to save one’s body” and forcefully shut
down companies. It would be nothing less than “tyranny.”
Regarding the backward production mode lagging behind the times, it’s not advisable for the developing regions to adopt a laissez-faire policy and protect the backward companies, or finish off the backward companies in a single blow. Instead, it’s
advisable to proceed from the actual situations, create conditions for transformation,
improvement and enhancement, and gradually transform it into an advanced and
applicable production mode. The practice in Shandong Province shows that as long
as we change our concepts and formulate scientific and reasonable guiding standards,
we can effectively promote backward industries to optimize their industrial structure,
improve production processes, and overcome obstacles of resource and environment.
In this way, the backward industries in the traditional sense can rise from the ashes
and embark on a path of high-quality development.
2. Scientific and strict environmental protection measures will not hinder
economic development, but play an important role in promoting highquality development during the transition period
Shandong Province has formulated local environmental standards for the paper
industry that are stricter than the national standards, arousing strong repercussions
inside and outside the province. There were two typical views in opposition to the
practice. One is that Shandong Province is placing itself under greater pressure by
applying much more rigorous standards than the national standards. It will inevitably
lead to the failure of the paper industry of Shandong Province in market competition.
The other holds that the economic and technical feasibility of the industry should be
a top consideration in the formulation of standards. The survey at the time suggested
that 85% of papermaking companies could not meet the third-stage standard, making
the standards meaningless in practice. These two views may sound quite reasonable,
but it’s exactly such ostensibly correct views that constitute the ideological barrier
that we need to break through in the industrial transformation and restructuring. It is
wrong to regard the economic and technical feasibility of corporate pollution control
as a prerequisite for decision-making, in disregard of the necessity of safeguarding
public health and ecological safety, the inevitable law of economic and social development, and the role of environmental protection to force the optimization of polluting
industries.
3. A win–win situation for economy and environment requires a strategy that
integrates the necessity, predictability, guidance and compulsion
In practice, promoting a win–win situation for economy and environment is often
caught in some “dilemmas” and has to go through a painful process to rise from the
ashes. Based on lessons drawn from the practice in Shandong Province, the author