Men ‘detained for burning low-quality coal’ in northern China amid winter crackdown
- But county government denies environment department statement, saying the men were ‘criticised and educated’ for using the banned heating fuel
A Chinese county has detained two men for burning low-quality coal and issued warnings to another 32 people, as authorities in the north clamp down on heating fuel over winter as part of Beijing’s war on pollution.
That is according to the local environment department, which said in a statement on Saturday that the men, both surnamed Zhao, were detained by police in Quyang, Hebei province, last week.
But later in the day, the local government denied the department’s statement, saying it was “misinformation” and that the authorities had only “criticised and educated the men who burned low-quality coal”.
The environment department’s statement was later removed from its official account on social network WeChat.
China’s push to clean up its toxic air saw many local governments across the north of the country rush through a coal ban last winter. But a shortage of natural gas to replace coal heating systems left many households shivering in freezing temperatures, forcing the authorities into a U-turn on the ban. Without a reliable energy supply, the ban was relaxed and people in low-income areas were instead asked to choose high-quality coal over the low-end product to reduce emissions.
