China has been continuously strengthening its drive to address pollution.

According to China Daily, around 700 officials have received sanctions after violating certain environmental laws.

This is accordingly part of the central government's drive to strengthen environmental protection and supervision, a move that environment experts have reportedly praised.

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The report noted that since these officials assumed to office in the middle of last month, about 4,000 offenses, including cases of dereliction of duty, have already been recorded, data from the inspectors have disclosed.

Of the 700 officials who were reportedly punished relative to China's initiative to ease concern on pollution, 112 were from Guangxi, the most number recorded among the eight provinces and autonomous regions.

"The quarry near my village has been worked for more than 20 years, generating heavy dust all the time, and I think it caused my respiratory disease," 73-year-old Zhang Benxing, a resident of Xiangshan district in Guilin, narrated, adding that some houses even endured cracks because of the quarry.

Meanwhile, the Henan provincial government has issued a statement saying, "The cases transferred by the central-level inspectors will go immediately to the governments involved. ... They will be required to investigate them straightaway."

For Ma Yong, a Supreme People's Court law center environment researcher, China's drive against pollution "shows the central government has been striving to reduce pollution and has seen some success."

As shared by the National Environmental Protection Inspection Office, the central inspectors are expected to conduct investigation in 14 provincial regions this year.

It was suggested that the Chinese government is indeed committed to solve the pollution problem in China.

Tagschina, China Pollution, China Pollution Control