ABSTRACT
In the gold and silver mineral area of Yizhang County, Chenzhou City, Hunan Province of China, spontaneous mining activities by civilians have caused severe pollution to the environment. In order to eliminate this uncontrolled mining phenomenon, local government contracted a company – Chenzhou Yixin Industrial Co. Ltd – to develop mining under legal authorization. However, this also led to pollution. Civilians cannot help but ask: ‘If civilians are not allowed to be involved in those projects, should government-supported projects causing pollution be permitted?’ Senior government officials determined to stop all such projects. However, the company believed that local government should fulfil its written promise to allow mining activities. Under the supervision of the media and through the intervention of pro-
vincial and city governments, mining activities ceased in 2002. As the value of minerals increased, economic interest’s motivation led to legal regulation of mining activities in 2006. Subsequently, the companies obtained related licences and resumed production. The pollution problem has never been thoroughly resolved. Meanwhile,
many officials involved in corruption have been apprehended and prosecuted. Public administration of the government is in a dilemma. On 15 May 2002 in the gold and silver mineral area of Yizhang
County, Chenzhou City, Hunan Province of China, the ‘Century Walk of Sanxiang Environmental Protection’ news-gathering group discovered piles of mining equipment in the middle of the mountains despite the fact that the mining engineering project had been abandoned. Although it is not apparent from the map, this village is famous for its
rich resources of metal, such as gold, silver, tungsten and lead. However, this brings both prosperity and severe pollution to the neighbouring environment. Green vegetation has now become scarce, and waste residues, broken branches and dead trees litter the area. Besides registering surprise, people cannot help but ask: ‘Why not stop
these activities? Why do these mining projects start again and again even
when they are expressly forbidden?’ To answer the above questions, we have to review the following scenarios.
