On March 8th, the second session of the Second Session of the 14th National People's Congress, the "Ministerial Passage," was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu stepped onto the ministerial channel and answered questions from media reporters.
Minister Huang Runqiu answered the question of fraud by third-party environmental protection service agencies, stating that environmental impact assessment and monitoring are fundamental systems in the field of ecological and environmental protection, and are very important. However, in recent years, various regions have also exposed the behavior of third-party environmental protection service agencies falsifying data during the preparation of environmental impact assessment documents and the self monitoring process of enterprises. The methods of falsification are diverse and varied, such as fabricating data during the preparation of environmental impact assessment documents, impersonating someone else's signature, replacing monitoring samples, interfering with sampling probes, fabricating false reports and false accounts, tampering with instrument parameters, and even using hacker programs to invade public computer systems to modify monitoring data. The nature of falsification is extremely bad, and the trend of falsification is still developing towards specialization and chain direction. These illegal behaviors have disrupted a fair market order, greatly damaged the credibility of the government and the environmental rights and interests of the people, and also impacted our bottom line. We cannot tolerate these behaviors, we must resolutely crack down on them, and we must eradicate the soil where they breed.
Since the 14th Five Year Plan period, we have worked together with the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration for Market Regulation to carry out special rectification for four consecutive years against the problem of third-party environmental protection service agencies engaging in fraud. We use the "four no's and two's" inspection, as you mentioned earlier, effective measures such as supervision and assistance, big data supervision, and even central ecological and environmental protection inspections to crack down on the fraudulent behavior of third-party environmental protection service agencies have achieved good results. There are several aspects overall:
Firstly, we have investigated and dealt with a batch of typical cases, forming an effective deterrent. In the past three years, we have investigated and dealt with 2260 third-party environmental protection service agencies with illegal activities, transferred 193 cases to relevant departments for criminal filing, and publicly exposed 457 typical cases. In addition, we have investigated and dealt with 4255 cases of companies falsifying environmental self monitoring, and transferred 930 suspected cases of illegal activities to relevant departments. These cases include the environmental impact assessment fraud case of Shandong Jinhua Company, which had a significant impact on society last year, the environmental impact assessment fraud case of Jiangxi Zhanhang Company, and the motor vehicle inspection fraud case of Guangdong Guanghe Company. These cases have all been sentenced and have produced good social effects, playing a deterrent and warning role.
Secondly, we have promoted the connection of execution and improved the efficiency of regulatory law enforcement. We have worked together with the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security to establish a joint law enforcement mechanism that connects execution and promotes integration. We have formed a "combination fist" of joint consultation, joint listing and supervision, joint disclosure of typical cases, and joint deployment of related work, effectively improving our regulatory enforcement efficiency. For example, in the Shandong Jinhua Company fraud case that I mentioned earlier, the environmental impact assessment company used affiliation and forging signatures of others to act as the creators of false environmental impact assessment documents. Over the years, 48 false environmental impact reports and 879 environmental impact report forms have been forged, with a huge number and poor quality. In the past, there were three difficulties in the investigation and handling of such cases: the first was difficulty in filing, the second was difficulty in obtaining evidence, and the third was difficulty in determining the nature. We effectively solved these three difficulties through this mechanism and local coordination. At present, the four individuals involved in this case have been criminally punished, which can be said to be the first case where the environmental impact assessment system was established and sentenced for fraud.
Thirdly, the legal system has been further improved. The Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Supreme People's Procuratorate have issued judicial interpretations on "two highs", clarifying the conviction and sentencing standards for third-party environmental service agencies providing false certification documents in the process of environmental impact assessment, environmental monitoring, and carbon emission inspection and testing. Recently, the State Council has issued the "Interim Regulations on the Management of Carbon Emission Rights Trading", which severely punish the falsification of carbon emission data, punishing both institutions and responsible persons, and revoking their professional qualifications for serious cases. These systems undoubtedly enhance our regulatory capabilities towards third-party environmental service agencies.
Next, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with relevant departments, will continue to carry out special rectification actions to maintain a high-pressure situation in cracking down on third-party environmental protection service agencies for falsifying and illegal activities. At the same time, we will further strengthen the "penetrating" supervision of big data and artificial intelligence, and use the power of technology to build a strong defense against fraud. Finally, we also welcome news media and journalists present today to leverage their advantages in public opinion supervision and work together with us to promote the healthy and orderly development of the third-party environmental protection service market.