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The environmental protection cause in China was feted on
November 30, 2005 with the presentation of "Figures of Green China
in 2005" award to five extraordinary people at the opening ceremony
of the Environmental Cultural Festival.
This award is the first to be given by the Chinese government to
environmentalists, and is supported by the United Nations
Environmental Program.
The five winners were chosen from 20 nominees based on the
appraisal of a panel of experts, online votes, and the results of a
public survey. "This was a new selection process because it
objectively reflects the public will and conforms to the public
spirit of the award," said Jin Jianming, chairman of the selection
committee of the award and also an academician of Chinese Academy
of Engineering.
Nominee names were collected between August 22 and October 31
last year. A total of 439 nominees were recommended by the public,
based on 35,823 Internet votes, letters and phone calls to the
selection committee. According to relevant regulations, the
committee shortlisted 89 candidates and then submitted the names to
Horizon Research, a research company, to conduct professional
investigations. Based on results of the investigation, the 89 names
were further whittled down to 20 and the names released to the
public on November 8.
"The award is for the common man; ordinary people who make great
contributions to environmental protection," said Pan Yue, vice
minister of the State
Environmental Protection Administration, one of the sponsors of
the award.
"Environmental protection needs the participation of all
citizens. Anyone, no matter who they are, can contribute to the
cause," Pan added.
The five winners were: Tian Guirong, a farmer turned
environmental protection leader; Liang Congjie, founder of Friends
of Nature, China's first environmental non-governmental
organization; Wang Canfa, a law professor who provides free legal
advice to pollution victims; Liang Liming, who heads the Taiyuan
Environmental Protection Agency; and Zhao Yongxin, a journalist who
exposed the environmental problems at Yuanmingyuan, the Old Summer
Palace.
(China.org.cn February 20, 2006)
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