Environment is a Major Political Issue Which Bears …
477
because of the opposition between individual invested interests and the overall social
interests. Essentially, promoting economic development regardless of environmental
pollution and ecological damage means a few interest groups illegally occupying the
natural capital that belongs to the whole society, or in other words, they gain while the
society loses. That is environmental (ecological) injustice and is against socialism.
The opposition between capital interests and social interests appears in every
country, so every country proposes to “contain capital.” With the development of
market economy in China, it becomes increasingly imperative to keep capital from
expanding so excessively as to threaten public interests—that’s why our market
economy is prefixed with socialist. The environmental issue is a manifestation of
the conflict between capital interests and public social interests, and strengthening
environmental protection and ecological progress is actually an endeavor to regulate
and control this conflict of interests, the intensity and extent of which is related to
how severe the conflict is and how much the society can bear. The central authority
has adopted stringent supervision and law-based governance because the current
conflict is much graver than the society can bear. Therefore, the nation’s stringent
measures, including environmental supervision, has an intrinsic connection with
safeguarding and maintaining its socialist nature. This is the political position we
should uphold when understanding the significance of environmental protection and
ecological progress.
(3) New struggle
Protecting the public environmental interests from being eroded by capital interests is
a great struggle with many new historical features, during which we must dialectically
handle two special aspects.
First, we must stand from the people’s perspective in environmental protection
and ecological progress. General Secretary Xi Jinping has stressed repeatedly that
“public sentiment is the greatest test of political efficacy.” We must actively respond
to their keen expectation for faster improvement of environmental quality, strongly
promote ecological progress and provide more quality ecological products to meet
their ever-growing demand for a beautiful eco-logical environment. Standing with
the people complies with the ruling Party’s purpose and is the foothold for viewing
the environmental issue as a major political issue. Standing at such a position, any
behavior, as far as environmental protection is concerned, that violates the people’s
overall interests must be opposed and stopped no matter how many local interests it
can generate—that’s the political position we must uphold. The handling of a series
of cases in point, such as the ecological damage on Qilian Mountain and the desert
pollution in western China, has put an end to many enterprises that make profits by
sacrificing the environment. This represents the prohibition and punishment of local
interests for the society’s overall interests, and the crackdown on irrational capital
interests.
Standing with the people on environmental protection is of great realistic importance now. A local government official once said, “If an enterprise causes pollution
during production and the nearby residents complain about that, I would stand on the
477
because of the opposition between individual invested interests and the overall social
interests. Essentially, promoting economic development regardless of environmental
pollution and ecological damage means a few interest groups illegally occupying the
natural capital that belongs to the whole society, or in other words, they gain while the
society loses. That is environmental (ecological) injustice and is against socialism.
The opposition between capital interests and social interests appears in every
country, so every country proposes to “contain capital.” With the development of
market economy in China, it becomes increasingly imperative to keep capital from
expanding so excessively as to threaten public interests—that’s why our market
economy is prefixed with socialist. The environmental issue is a manifestation of
the conflict between capital interests and public social interests, and strengthening
environmental protection and ecological progress is actually an endeavor to regulate
and control this conflict of interests, the intensity and extent of which is related to
how severe the conflict is and how much the society can bear. The central authority
has adopted stringent supervision and law-based governance because the current
conflict is much graver than the society can bear. Therefore, the nation’s stringent
measures, including environmental supervision, has an intrinsic connection with
safeguarding and maintaining its socialist nature. This is the political position we
should uphold when understanding the significance of environmental protection and
ecological progress.
(3) New struggle
Protecting the public environmental interests from being eroded by capital interests is
a great struggle with many new historical features, during which we must dialectically
handle two special aspects.
First, we must stand from the people’s perspective in environmental protection
and ecological progress. General Secretary Xi Jinping has stressed repeatedly that
“public sentiment is the greatest test of political efficacy.” We must actively respond
to their keen expectation for faster improvement of environmental quality, strongly
promote ecological progress and provide more quality ecological products to meet
their ever-growing demand for a beautiful eco-logical environment. Standing with
the people complies with the ruling Party’s purpose and is the foothold for viewing
the environmental issue as a major political issue. Standing at such a position, any
behavior, as far as environmental protection is concerned, that violates the people’s
overall interests must be opposed and stopped no matter how many local interests it
can generate—that’s the political position we must uphold. The handling of a series
of cases in point, such as the ecological damage on Qilian Mountain and the desert
pollution in western China, has put an end to many enterprises that make profits by
sacrificing the environment. This represents the prohibition and punishment of local
interests for the society’s overall interests, and the crackdown on irrational capital
interests.
Standing with the people on environmental protection is of great realistic importance now. A local government official once said, “If an enterprise causes pollution
during production and the nearby residents complain about that, I would stand on the