A huge difference
Like Li, many NGOs have had unpleasant experiences when dealing with companies and local governments in smaller cities, which have left them dumbfounded.
There are laws and government orders that require pollution information to be publicly displayed. Among them are an order issued in 2007 saying environmental protection bureaus should publicize pollution data and respond to inquiries from individuals, and a 2013 order saying State-run companies should do the same. Clearly, in the case of Linfen, neither of these orders are being followed consistently.
Ruan Qingyuan, director of the information publicity department of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), a research organization that collects and analyzes pollution data, said she found in the course of her research there's a large difference between regions in China concerning transparency.
The 2013 order requires State-run enterprises to install pollution surveillance devices and update publicly available pollution data on an hourly basis. But four years later, some provinces, including Shanxi, have not kept up with the order's basic requirements.
In more developed regions, such as East China's Zhejiang Province, State-run companies have already implemented the order to update their data hourly, and moved on to updating provincial and city pollution levels. But in polluted Shanxi, not many companies have taken any steps in this direction.
Lin Hong, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a consultant for Beijing-based environmentalist NGO Friends of Nature, said many industrial cities lag way behind in awareness of environmental protection, let alone actual measures to control it.
It's the same with local governments. In 2013, 18 NGOs requested air pollution data from 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.
When NGO workers sent application letters for pollutant information, some government bureaus and companies called back saying they've never heard of such information releases.
One worker in a remote part of Northeast China's Liaoning Province even received a threatening phone call, telling him to withdraw his application.
Only the strong can take it
This attitude is not just limited to those who might have something to hide. Zhang Yajing went back to her hometown of Shijiazhuang, capital of North China's Hebei Province last December during a period of heavy smog. As soon as she stepped off the train, she was enveloped by pollution. While walking on the streets, she couldn't see further than a few meters. The city has long been ranked among the top 10 most polluted cities in China.
But people in Shijiazhuang weren't taking it seriously. Her father is a vivid example. While he says he understands that pollution isn't good for you, he refuses to take any precautions. He exercises outside and keeps their apartment's windows open regardless of smog levels, saying he can take it because he's strong in mind and body. He half-jokingly said her British husband is weak because he wore a mask, explaining that everyone dies eventually anyway.
A public relations worker at air purifier firm Blue Air told the Global Times the company's main business is still focused in large cities like Beijing or Shanghai, not so much in second and third tier cities, let alone towns and villages, even though many of these places suffer from the heaviest pollution in China.
NGOs feel the same way when they do field research. Lin said that she was told that when experts in different fields did research in Jiangxi Province a while back, if they talked about enterprises or economic development, the locals were interested. When they tried talking about the environment, not many cared.
Other ways to police
Lin has found that NGOs have to change the way they deal with intransigent local governments and polluting firms. Friends of Nature has started pushing for improvements through lawsuits, which has turned out to be an effective method, even though costs are high and one can only go after one company at a time.
IPE's Ruan thinks changing public awareness and having the public police local governments and companies is an effective way to supervise their actions.
"I think in Shandong Province, for example, companies are so effective in updating pollution data that they can receive the public's feedback, and it actually helps their company," she said.
The IPE also has a few cell phone apps and websites, where the public can read hourly air and water pollution data from across China. The IPE collects this data and further communicates with different bureaus and companies and either requests more openness or sends them reports and analyses how to change the situation.
NGOs are also trying to establish friendly contacts with local governments. To help the Linfen issue, the IPE has sent letters to the environmental protection bureau, pushing for more openness, and is preparing for a lawsuit if it is needed.
"SO2 pollution is hard to see with one's naked eye, but if we have available data, then the public can be more aware of the situation and get their concerns across," she said.
