Chinese court accepts first lawsuit filed by environment group

A court in southwest China has accepted the country’s first lawsuit filed by an environmental group against a local government late last week, AP reported，citing a member of the group. The acceptance of the suit is a sign of greater public involvement and use of environmental protection laws to hold the government accountable, experts said. The All-China Environmental Federation (ACEF) filed the suit on behalf of local residents against the land resources bureau in Qingzhen city in Guizhou province. The bureau sold land to a drink and ice cream processing plant, but ACEF argued the waste water produced by the plant would be a threat to a scenic lake area. The land was sold in 1994 but construction was never completed. ACEF group wants the land returned to the Qingzhen government and the construction materials removed. The case will begin in early September. The group also filed a lawsuit earlier this month against a container port company in Jiangsu province for failing to control pollution. That case was also accepted but has yet to go to trial.