Crafting the legal regime for ecological environmental damage compensation: an analysis of China’s approach

Regarding the strategy of cross-Strait relations, both Taiwan and Mainland China have made some changes but also kept some consistent positions since China was separated into two governments in 1949. The Taiwan government removed the martial law and allowed Taiwanese to visit their relatives living in China in 1987. From then on, both sides started to exchange information and ideas in many aspects with each other. Also the cross-Strait relations ushered in a new era. However, after the Taiwan Strait crisis broke out in 1996, the cross-Strait relations cooled down. The intention of the unification of China was called into question by both sides. After Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which insisted on Taiwan Independence took power in the central government in 2000, the Communist Party of China (CPC) was forced to unavoidably face the new lead team in Taiwan. The DPP government constantly utilized the tense cross-Strait relations as a strategy to triumph in the various elections and unceasingly provoked CPC to make them lose the initiative in the cross-Strait issues. Hu Jintao became the successor of President of China and formally led the China government in 2003. Facing the DDP’s victory in the 2004 presidential election, CPC started thinking about how to avoid passively responding to the provocation of Taiwan Independence from the Taiwan authorities. Accordingly, CPC passed the Anti-Secession Law in 2005 as the bottom line of dealing with the Taiwan Independence issue. Although the approval of Anti-Secession Law made Taiwanese people feel a strong antipathy towards it, the international community didn’t make many statements publicly to support Taiwan.. However, the Taiwan government raised “Abolition of Unification” and “Referendum for Entering United Nations Bundled into Elections” respectively during 2005 and 2008, as a strategy of promoting the situation of election. But CPC used these two events to test the real effects of Anti-Secession Law. This thesis is focused on a series of events and their processes to analyze the strategic value of CPC’s Anti-Secession Law and evaluate the real effects that CPC obtained by using this law.

Value evaluation system of ecological environment damage compensation caused by air pollution

Hong Kong and Macao returned to China in 1997 and 1999 respectively. The governments of the Hong Kong SAR and the Macao SAR have since operated on the basis of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR and the Basic Law of the Macao SAR respectively with the policy of ”One Country, Two Systems” as the supreme guideline and principle. Based on the basic laws and guideline, China will maintain the situation unchanged for 50 years and continue the existing capitalist system in the two regions. The Communist Party of China (CPC) has portrayed a beautiful picture of freedom for the citizens of the Hong Kong SAR and the Macao SAR and emphasized the independence of ”Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong and Macao people governing Macao”. In 2003, however, when large number of people took to the street in Hong Kong to protest against the legislation of the 23rd article of the Basic Law, the top CPC leaders came to realize that the political situation of Hong Kong and Macao was beyond their expectation. The lessons learnt from the mistaken evaluation of the situation forced CPC to begin high involvement in the affairs of Hong Kong and Macao and CPC has ever since made prudent and flexible adjustment to its policies toward Hong Kong and Macao. In terms of the relationship between China and the two SARs, both Hong Kong and Macao rely highly on the Chinese mainland due to economic factors, and even if both regions realize democracy, confrontation will hardly happen between Beijing and the two regions. What's more, in terms of objective conditions, Hong Kong has all the conditions required for democracy, including sound economic development, sound legal systems, clean government, high quality of citizens and high-level internationalization. Therefore, what the CPC central government is truly concerned with is that once general election is allowed and a leader elected is not compliant with requirements of the central government, the relationship between the Chinese government and Hong Kong SAR would result in unexpected changes; secondly, if Hong Kong successfully realizes democracy, it would certainly play a role of model for the cities in the Chinese mainland, which is, of course, not what CPC want to see. As for the prospect of the relationship between China and the two SARs, despite the fact that CEPA Agreement has facilitated amazing economic development of both Hong Kong and Macao following their return to China, how to consolidate and improve the economy of Hong Kong and Macao while lowering their reliance on the Chinese mainland and expanding to the world market; how to pursue the democratic value and space for freedom of speech and survival; and how to prevent more social problems stemming from economic factors will truly be the questions worthy to be pondered on for Hong Kong in its 2nd ten-year period and Macao following the end of its 1st ten-year period after their return to China.

海洋工程生态损害评估与补偿——以厦门杏林跨海大桥为例

With the increase in the number of oils transported by sea, the risk of oil spills from ships has increased year by year. Ship oil spills often incur huge costs of surroundings cleanup and environmental remediation. The Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China has come into effect on January 1, 2021. Chapter 7 in Part VII Tort Liability of the Civil Code, Liability for Environmental Pollution and Ecological Damage (Articles 1229 to 1235), is called “Green Clauses,” foreseeably to play a significant regulatory and guiding role in the compensation-related work of China’s ship oil spill pollution accidents. The Green Clause in the Civil Code is consistent with the principles of the three international conventions in the field of compensation for oil pollution damage from ships to which China is a party. The characteristic provisions such as ecological environment damage repair and compensation are in line with China's ecological environment protection system. The inversion of the burden of proof and other provisions can more effectively protect the victims of ship oil spill pollution accidents.KeywordsThe civil code of the PRCShip oil spillCompensation on environmental pollution

Assessment of ecological damage from illegal fishing and judicial practice for damage compensation

The People’s Republic of China has declared dignity to be a foundational norm of its legal system, as institutionalized through a suite of constitutional and legislative reforms. Indeed, the 2017–21 period saw the adoption of some of the most far-reaching statutes in the history of the PRC, the centerpiece of which is the new Civil Code (2021). In both structure and content, provisions of the Civil Code comprise a quasi-constitutional charter of rights. Indeed, many Chinese scholars do treat the Civil Code as such, developing sophisticated constitutional theory along the way. At the core of these claims is dignity, which occupies a prominent position within the Civil Code, and from which a host of additional rights, including unenumerated rights, can be derived. After situating these developments in light of global constitutional practice, we examine the emergence of dignity as an officially sanctioned commitment device, and analyze the pertinent scholarly discourse, structure, and content of the new Civil Code, and the various roles that the Communist Party of China, the National People’s Congress, and the Supreme People’s Court are expected to perform in supervising the work of the judiciary in operationalizing the Civil Code. We conclude that while the PRC has not fully embraced the dignity norm in the way other constitutional systems have, it has nonetheless permitted significant discursive debates that deserve to be analyzed comparatively.

This study constructs comprehensive panel data based on the China City Statistical Yearbook and environmental indicators disclosed by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment from 2013 to 2017, using a difference-in-difference (DID) model to empirically validate the effects of the ecological environmental damage compensation system on urban air quality, followed by a further analysis of the system’s effect mechanism, namely, how the system has generated effects on reducing environmental pollution. This study finds that: (1) the ecological environmental damage compensation system can significantly improve urban air quality, and small cities are more sensitive to the pilot policy; and (2) the main impact is that the pilot policy mechanism improved the urban pollutant treatment capacity and reduced the proportion of the secondary industry. After multiple robustness tests, this conclusion still holds. This study provides empirical evidence for fully implementing an ecological environmental damage compensation system.

Shale gas is a promising unconventional gas resource with clean-burning and efficient nature. Many countries show high interests in this new resource along with the success of shale gas revolution in the US. In recent years, China has raised a boom of shale gas development which may lead to air pollution, water pollution, ecological damage and other environmental issues, it is significant to determine exactly how shale gas development affects on the environment and how to measure quantitatively. This paper conducts the study by means of literature review, exchange conference, academic forums and combining methods of environmental economics, cost accounting, econometrics and other disciplines to build mathematical analysis model of environmental costs of shale gas development. Then we propose on strengthen the environmental cost management and control of shale gas development in China so as to achieve the sustainable development of shale gas. The conclusions indicate that the evaluation results obtained by quantitative method of shale gas development environmental costs is objective, specific and more easily accepted by enterprise and government so that provide effective suggestions to strengthen environmental protection. From both technical and political levels, we propose that introduction of foreign advanced technology, comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact, strengthen the protection and regulation of oil and gas pipelines, improving the ecological resources compensation mechanism conducive to promoting shale gas development in China. Additionally, the most important innovations are mainly reflected in: 1) in terms of the influence of shale gas development on water consumption, groundwater pollution, air pollution, ecological compensation, geological disaster compensation, we combine the theory of environmental costs and give econometric model of the environmental costs respectively. 2) considering various environmental cost factors we build econometric model of environmental costs of shale gas development to analyze the impact on the environment. 3) In order to minimize the potential environmental impact to realize the sustainable development of shale gas resources, China should strengthen environmental protection from aspects of both technology and policy.

In the geographical locations where drinking water sources are available, ecological compensation is a potent environmental economic tool for conservation of the environment. The existing systems cannot analyze the extent of ecological damage to water environment resources due to the increase in compensation cost and reduction in compensation efficiency. Therefore, an ecological compensation system of natural water resources in public places is proposed in this paper for preserving one of the most important natural resources, “water.” The system obstacles in the implementation of ecological resource compensation mechanisms for water protection regions of public places are analyzed using grey relational analysis. The status of payment and benefits in the upstream and downstream sections of public places is determined on the basis of a study of compensation theory. Then, the ecological compensation system of the river basin is established by calculating accommodation of water footprint model. Moreover, the key factors of the extent of ecological damage to water environment resources in public space are analyzed by an improved grey relational analysis method. The water footprint model has analyzed the safety and pressure analysis of water resources in public attractions places. The results are retrieved in a simulated environment which shows that the designed system can effectively enhance the compensation efficiency and reduce the compensation costs. The ecological compensation system is developed to actualize the economy and natural resources for the sustainable growth.

Ecological damage compensation responsibilities are a civil responsibility mixed with public law factor to deal with. Ecological damage emerging in the environmental crisis age. To perfect Chinese law of ecological damage compensation responsibilities, we should give priority to ecological benefit protection, adopt non-fault imputability, and identify the responsibility with the elements of conduct harmful to the environment, the fact of ecological damage as well as the causation between the conduct and the fact of ecological damage. China should be perfect environmental citizen suit law, set up relevant systems such as environmental reliability insurance system, environmental protection fund system and ecological damage evaluation system, so as to offer statutory guarantee for the construction of ecological civilization society.

The establishment of the Compensation System for Ecological and Environmental Damage is the key implementation content of the "Ecological Civilization" strategies in China. The purpose of the Ecological and Environmental Damage Compensation System is to break the dilemma of "environmental priceless, no claim for compensation", "corporate pollution, government paying". It is a feasible method to comprehensively remedy China's damaged environment by imposing negotiation and litigation against liable parties that engaged in environmental pollution and ecological destruction. The reform began in 2015. In recent years, the reform has been trailed in the mainland of China. Some provinces have promulgated their local version of an implementation plan and formed regulations about it. Many cases have been done in practice. This paper purports to introduce the practice of the Ecological and Environmental Damage Compensation System in China, analyze the problems disclosing from the trailed implementation, such as insufficient judicial support for claimants, absence of procedural legislation and unclear relationship with other public interest litigation. Meanwhile, the paper also proposes three suggestions to improve the Ecological and Environmental Damage Compensation System: restoration priority principle in negotiation; limited applicable scope; procuratorates’ performing legal supervision duties.

基于生境等价分析法的胶州湾围填海造地生态损害评估

В статье анализируются нормы Федерального закона «О природных лечебных ресурсах, лечебно-оздоровительных местностях и курортах» в области установления права собственности на природные лечебные ресурсы, в частности, включения лечебного климата, условий, используемых для лечения и профилактики заболеваний и организации отдыха, в перечень объектов права собственности. Рассмотрев положения Федерального закона «О природных лечебных ресурсах, лечебно-оздоровительных местностях и курортах» в области права собственности на природные лечебные ресурсы в комплексе с нормами других актов природоресурсного законодательства, можно прийти к выводу, что провозглашаемая в ст. 9 указанного закона государственная собственность на природные лечебные ресурсы остается простым декларированием, не имеющим под собой правовой основы. Природные лечебные ресурсы в том понимании, что вкладывается в них законом о природных лечебных ресурсах («лечебный климат» и «условия, используемые для лечения и профилактики заболеваний и организации отдыха»), не могут являться объектами собственности ввиду их физических свойств: они не являются имуществом, не поддаются индивидуализации. При этом возможно установление права государственной собственности на земельные участки, которые содержат эти природные лечебные ресурсы. Современное законодательство, относя природные лечебные ресурсы к государственной собственности, позволяет передавать земельные участки, их содержащие, к другим формам собственности, в частности к муниципальной. Положения законодательства в области государственной собственности на природные лечебные ресурсы, таким образом, весьма противоречивы и нуждаются в совершенствовании и юридической определенности. The article analyzes the norms of the Federal Law «On Natural Medical Resources, Therapeutic and Recreational Areas and Resorts» in the field of establishing ownership of natural curative resources, in particular, the inclusion of a medical climate, conditions used for the treatment and prevention of diseases and recreation, in the list of objects of property rights. Having considered the provisions of the Federal Law «On Natural Health Resources, Health Resorts and Resorts» in the field of ownership of natural medicinal resources in conjunction with the norms of other acts of natural resource legislation, it can be concluded that the state ownership of natural medical resources remains a simple declaration, which has no legal basis. Natural curative resources, in the sense that is stated by the law on natural curative resources («therapeutic climate» and «conditions used for the treatment and prevention of diseases and recreation»), cannot be property objects due to their physical properties: they are not are property, do not lend themselves to individualization. It is possible to establish the right of state ownership of land plots that contain these natural medicinal resources. Modern legislation, establishing state property for natural health resources, allows the transfer of land, containing them, to other forms of ownership, in particular, to municipal property. The provisions of the legislation in the field of state ownership of natural health resources are thus very contradictory and need improvement and legal certainty.

The high level of government trust shown by citizens of still-authoritarian China is one of the most perplexing political phenomena of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Contrary to predictions that the violent crackdown by the Communist Party of China (CPC) on the protests in the spring of 1989 would de-legitimize the government to such an extent that democratic revolution would be imminent, since the early 1990s the Chinese citizenry has displayed remarkably strong confidence in the central government. Even more surprisingly, popular trust in national political leaders and institutions has been apparent even among the hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens who have participated in tens of thousands of yearly protests since the early 1990s. To be sure, these widespread “mass disturbances” indicate some degree of unhappiness with the political system. Yet almost none of the protestors have challenged CPC rule. Instead, demonstrators typically have directed their anger at local employers and/or officials, and expressed support for central authorities. Simultaneously, they generally have not criticized the political system from a Western, liberal perspective. Rather, most have voiced their criticisms from the left, calling on ruling elites to live up to their socialist claims to legitimacy. Thus, even China’s most aggrieved citizens have displayed little desire to end CPC rule. Simultaneously, many citizens – especially those who have prospered in recent years – have shown strong interest in joining the CPC and working with, rather than against, the existing political establishment. Through an analysis of public opinion polls, interviews, and data on the political behavior of China’s major socioeconomic sectors, this chapter provides evidence of these political attitudes within the Chinese citizenry.