Officials who are found to have misbehaved in air pollution control will be responsible for their mistakes and resign, according to a decision by the Chongqing Municipal government to step up air pollution control efforts.
   
Wang Ruilin, deputy head of the legal affairs office of the Chongqing Municipal Government, said that the move was aimed at stepping up efforts for air pollution control.
   
Leading officials of county and district-level governments and those who are in charge of air pollution control will also face criticism in the published government notices, be required to apologize to the general public through the media or will be suspended from their posts, if they are found to have not performed their duties or are found to be involved in fraudulent practices for personal gains and abuse of authority, Wang said.
   
Influenced by its special geographical location, Chongqing has more than 100 foggy days all around the year and is dubbed the "foggy capital". The city was at the top of a list of ten most air-polluted cities nationwide in 2004 by the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).
   
According to the Chongqing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, particulate matter is the major pollutant in the air over the city. The city reported that 80 percent of the polluted days in 2004 were affected by particulate matter. The ratio rose to 90 percent in the first five months this year.
   
Environmentalists warned that if not dealt with promptly, Chongqing would see a drastic drop in air quality in one or two years. By 2010, the amount of discharged particulate matter will top 106,400 tons annually, much higher than the bearable amount of 54,600 tons, they said.
   
Chongqing sits between two high mountains, with the Yangtze and the Jialing rivers running through. This special location is unfavorable to the dispersal of pollutants in the air and causes foggy days as pollutants hover in the air over the city, experts said.
   
The Chongqing municipal government launched a "Blue-Sky Program 2005-2010" to guide air pollution control efforts.

(Xinhua News Agency August 28, 2005)