Four companies, including Anshan Iron and Steel, were placed on the Ministry of Environmental Protection's "blacklist" on the 16th. According to the Ministry, environmental inspection efforts will continue to increase in the second half of the year, and companies already on the "blacklist" will be recorded in the corporate integrity system, with restrictions imposed on multiple fronts including corporate loans and project approvals.
　　"Companies are becoming increasingly sophisticated in illegal pollutant discharge and data falsification, making inspections more and more difficult," said Zou Shoumin, Director of the Environmental Supervision Bureau of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, at a press conference held on the 16th. He stated that in addition to the endless emergence of corporate environmental violations, some companies already found to have environmental problems have been extremely slow in rectifying them, and some have even refused to comply, resuming violations once the inspection campaign passes.
　　Ministry inspection teams found that four companies—the Chemical General Plant of Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation, Harbin Linen Textile Co., Ltd., Guangxi Baise Rongda Copper Co., Ltd., and Tongling City Chengbei Wastewater Treatment Plant—had been on the Ministry's "blacklist" for a long time without carrying out effective rectification work.
　　"For the three companies (that failed to carry out effective rectification)—the Chemical General Plant of Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation, Harbin Linen Textile Co., Ltd., and Baise Rongda Copper Co., Ltd.—we are placing the three environmental violation cases under挂牌 supervision, ordering the companies to comply with the handling and penalty decisions of local environmental protection departments in accordance with the law. If they refuse to comply within the deadline, local environmental protection departments will apply to the courts for compulsory enforcement. At the same time, the environmental violation issues of the above companies will be copied to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the People's Bank of China, the Securities Regulatory Commission and other departments, and referred to the Ministry of Supervision to hold relevant personnel accountable," Zou Shoumin told reporters. In addition, the Ministry has notified the Anhui Provincial People's Government of the issue concerning the Tongling City Chengbei Wastewater Treatment Plant, which was completed but has not been put into operation for a long time.
　　Zou Shoumin revealed that environmental inspection efforts will increase in the second half of the year, and all inspection results will be posted online. Except for companies that have completed rectification during inspections, company names will remain online indefinitely, effectively forming a "blacklist" and being recorded in the corporate integrity system, with restrictions imposed on multiple fronts including corporate loans and project approvals.