Experts Call for Law on Developing West ChinaWorried about possible damages to the environment brought about by local development, some experts have urged to make a special law to govern the activities in the development of the underdeveloped West China.Local governments should be asked to attach greater importance to environmental protection. They made the call in Beijing at Saturday's symposium to discuss developing China's western regions and Golmud, a fast developing city in the west. Over 100 officials and experts attended the meeting, sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the municipal government of Golmud. Experts repeatedly questioned officials from Golmud how they are planning to deal with the environment to prevent land erosion and water pollution. In June, a group of experts from CASS visited the city, which, covering 124,500 sq.km., has a population of 200,000 with 26 nationalities. It is the third largest city on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, following Xining, provincial capital of Qinghai, and Lhasa, regional capital of Tibet. Golmud boasts huge natural resources including 3.4 trillion cubic meters of water resources and over 50 mineral resources. |
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