In briefs: Environment Ministry to be restructured

Environment Ministry to be restructured

BEIJING • China's Environment Ministry has unveiled a restructuring plan which will see the agency moving away from the old target-based system, the South China Morning Post reported.

Under the plan, approved by the central government in February last year, divisions overseeing pollution prevention and control over emissions would be reconfigured into three divisions tackling air, water and soil pollution.

The aim of the streamlining is to get the various agencies to exercise more comprehensive governance after the previous system received much criticism for being unreliable.


More time needed to revise draft law on NGOs

BEIJING • China needs more time to revise a draft law governing foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs), said parliamentary spokesman Fu Ying yesterday, defending the need for such legislation despite widespread criticism abroad.

The law comes amid a crackdown on dissent by the administration, which has detained and jailed activists and blamed "foreign forces", including NGOs, for the pro-democracy protests that rocked Hong Kong in late 2014.

The draft law requires foreign non-profit organisations to find official sponsors, typically a government-backed agency, and gives broad latitude to the police to regulate activities and funding.

There are about 7,000 foreign NGOs working in China.

REUTERS


Senior legislator under disciplinary probe

BEIJING • Senior national legislator Wang Min is suspected of serious violation of discipline, the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said yesterday. He is vice-chairman of the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of the 12th National People's Congress.

XINHUA

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 05, 2016, with the headline In briefs: Environment Ministry to be restructured. Subscribe