CHINESE LAWYERS TO SUE GOVERNMENTS FOR FAILING FIGHTING SMOG|中國受霧霾所苦 律師狀告政府治霾不力

Many cities in China are suffering greatly from air pollution, with some areas seeing PM2.5 concentrations of over 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter--more than ten times the threshold for the worst possible rating in Taiwan's air quality system. Five lawyers are preparing to sue the governments of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei for their lack of action in improving the air quality. The lawyers say that smog is not an unsolvable problem, but that government inaction is causing the situation to worsen. Heavy smog that leaves the outlines of buildings barely visible is a common problem across northern China, including Beijing. The severe air pollution affects over 400 million people, making facial masks an essential everyday item. ==YU WENSHENG lawyer== On days without wind and with heavy smog, sometimes the visibility drops to a few dozen meters, or even a little over ten meters. You can't even drive in that kind of weather. Seeing no improvement in air quality, five Chinese lawyers are suing the governments of Beijing and Tianjin cities as well as Hebei province for failing to take action against the smog. ==YU WENSHENG Lawyer== Since the beginning of winter, China has suffered from severe smog that has gravely affected people's health, lives, and work. The true cause of the smog is government inaction and mistakes. ==DONG LIANSAI Director, Greenpeace Climate and Energy Project== Back in 2012, public awareness of PM2.5 was low. But they saw how the air quality monitoring system at that time did not match the situation in front of them, and that's why China quickly formulated PM2.5 monitoring and evaluation standards. So I think public awareness is very important for achieving cleaner air. The lawyers say that no one can escape the effects of air pollution, so they will continue to appeal the case even though courts have declined to hear it. They hope that increased public attention to the issue will spur the government into action to clean up the air. TRANSLATED BY：JOHN CHEN 中國大陸有許多城市，飽受霧霾汙染所苦，有些地方細懸浮微粒PM2.5濃度、甚至會超過每立方公尺一千微克，是台灣過去紫爆數值的十多倍。對此，有五名律師，決定狀告北京、天津及河北省政府「治霾不力」，他們認為霾害是可以改善的，但政府不作為，才使得狀況持續惡化。 放眼望去，一片霧茫茫，只能依稀看到建築物的形狀。因為受霧霾影響，北京等華北城市，時常籠罩在這種空汙嚴重的情況當中，有超過4億人民受到影響，也使得「戴口罩」出門，變成家常便飯。 ==律師 余文生== 如果沒有風 有霧霾天的時候 有可能 能見度 就幾十米或十幾米 那樣的霧霾天氣的話 開車都不行 面對霧霾天氣沒有好轉的跡象，中國大陸有5名律師，狀告北京、天津及河北省政府，因為他們認為，這是政府「治霾不力」的後果。 ==律師 余文生== 因為今年入冬以來 中國的霧霾相當的嚴重 已經嚴重的影響到 人的身體健康 和其他的 生活方面 工作方面的一些(事) 霧霾的真正原因 是政府的不作為和亂作為 ==綠色和平氣候與能源項目主任 董連賽== 如果追溯到2012年 可能公眾還不知道PM2.5 當時正是因為看到了這個 過去的空氣質量系統的 這個數值和實際的這個 藍天的情況的一個差異 才推動了 中國這麼快的 推出一個PM2.5的 監測和評估的標準 所以我覺得 公民的關注 對於治理空氣是非常重要的 律師們表示，全民都是空氣汙染的受害者，因此就算這個訴訟案，目前法院是決定不立案也不裁定，他們也會堅持要再上訴，希望能引發更多人關注議題，促使政府盡速處理，找回乾淨空氣。 記者 綜合報導