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Oct 2, 2008
Fang Jiake: Senior's Home
Sep 4, 2008
2007 Conde Nast Traveler Environmental Award Winner: Wu Lihong
Winner: Wu Lihong
Devastating pollution in one of China's largest lakes prompts a small-town salesman to take action. Dorinda Elliott reports on his perilous path
Wu Lihong and fellow environmental activist Chen Faqing used to joke about going to jail. The two grassroots warriors, farmers born in villages surrounded by rice paddies in Jiangsu Province, knew that they were taking huge risks by challenging the local authorities responsible for polluting the nearby rivers that feed Lake Tai. As a boy, Wu swam in the enormous pristine lake, which was exalted by Tang dynasty poets. Painters and scholars on their way to the teahouses in Hangzhou used to stop on its beaches to rest, inspired by the majesty of the craggy shoreline and the waters lapping against bamboo forests. But in the last two decades, the lake's poetic past has been symbolically washed away in China's new commercial frenzy. Today, the 935-square-mile lake, the lone source of drinking and bathing water for two million people, lies in the middle of the country's most industrialized region—the workshop of the world—and the joke between the two friends has become a harsh reality. In April, Wu Lihong was arrested and charged with extortion, and in August, he was sentenced to three years in prison. A month earlier, while Wu was still awaiting trial, I went to a village near Lake Tai, where Chen showed me plastic bottles of polluted lake water collected by his friend before the arrest. "People like Wu are pushing for real change in this country," Chen said, shaking the bottles filled with brown, yellow, black, and even orange water. "He raised awareness of the environmental problems here, but we are up against rich corrupt bosses and officials."
The next day, at Turtle Head Park, where I boarded a ferry with dozens of Chinese vacationers, the lake water along the beach resembled thick, oily paint. The color was an eerie neon green. "What's that stinky smell? It's disgusting!" uttered one tourist from Sichuan, who had come with her son on summer holiday. A fishy chemical odor was wafting up off the lake. "Blue-green algae," said a local tourist. A tour guide told us that the government is trying to fix the problem, but he was afraid the cure might kill all the fish in Lake Tai.
Jul 21, 2008
Karen I. Tse: Legal Reform in China
The legal system's quiet revolution |
By Karen I. Tse International Herald Tribune |
Justice in China I
GENEVA This week's Chinese New Year celebrations honored the Year of the Rooster, an auspicious time signifying achievement and new hopes. But while one of China's achievements, its economic success, is well known, another transformation has received far less attention: a revolution in legal rights that has a groundswell of popular support and is poised over the next few years to completely reshape Chinese society.
The two are in fact related: Economic progress and globalization are major forces that help explain the legal changes that are afoot. Over the past few years, China's desire to play a more prominent global role through international institutions - joining the World Trade Organization, hosting the Olympics in 2008 and the like - has thrown a spotlight on its criminal judicial system. The rule of law in support of contracts and the rights of citizenship and property, among other things, is a cornerstone of economic progress and a stable social system. Importantly, as in the opening of the economy under Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, the overarching strategy has been provided from above, but there is flexibility in how to achieve the country's goals on the ground, where there is greater local, hands-on knowledge.
In a little under a decade, China has established more than 2,800 legal aid centers - an unprecedented accomplishment for any country - whose basic mission is to provide fair and competent legal representation to all of China's citizens regardless of ethnicity, gender or economic status. Given opportunities to participate in national information campaigns and roundtables on new laws, Chinese from all levels of society - government, law enforcement, lawyers, and ordinary citizens - have embraced the basic concepts of legal fairness and justice. These developments, in turn, have created a very significant opportunity for ordinary citizens to take China's growing body of law and demand that it is better enforced.
Though many laws already exist on the books - covering the rights of defendants and prisoners, and the safety of lawyers - they are not always upheld, particularly in rural and remote regions. Indeed, there have been complaints that lawyers sometimes become the targets of the very abuse that they are fighting against.
Part of the reason has been a lack of education about new laws, and a sense of professional isolation (and indeed intimidation) among lawyers, who are reluctant to insist on their enforcement. Aware of this, the Chinese Ministry of Justice and other governmental departments, with an outpouring of backing from China's own indigenous legal community, have welcomed the support of international players who will work with them in reaching their goal of establishing a country ruled by law.
My organization, International Bridges to Justice, was invited by the Ministry of Justice in 2001 to assist in the development of legal aid and defender services. Our experiences suggest the range of efforts China is undertaking.
In December, for instance, in our joint project with Peking University, more than 3,000 students, members of the Communist Youth League from 14 of the most prominent law schools nationwide, organized a "Rights of Detainees" campaign to "publicize the spirit of the Constitution and enhance the concept of the rule of law." Another joint project, with National Legal Aid of China, involved the creation and nationwide distribution of 500,000 posters and brochures describing the new legal rights of the accused, including versions in Chinese, Tibetan, Mongolian and Uighur.
Local legal aid lawyers in Tibet took it further, partnering with local police and prison officials to visit prisoners and explain their legal rights. In Guangxi, local theater troupes created a Chinese-style opera that they performed on the streets to illustrate new rights of Chinese citizens.
Not all of the national conversations, however, have been easy. In one of a series of roundtable meetings among lawyers, prosecutors and judges, lawyers spoke of intimidation by the judicial system aimed against lawyers themselves. Indeed, at one meeting, a prosecutor broke the ice at a tense moment by exclaiming: "Perhaps we need a lawyer to defend the poor prosecutors here!" Some judges, put on the defensive, replied that they were not trying to hurt lawyers. As the frank dialogue ensued, some people were moved to tears - yet many bridges were built.
China's' legal reforms will not be completed overnight, but the door has been opened for international support for the country in this process. As one lawyer remarked poetically after our international training session in Gansu Province, "It is medicine for the heart, a fresh wind in the desert."
This support is critical, and it is up to us as an international community to have the courage to respond. In this auspicious Year of the Rooster, Chinese citizens are sowing the seeds of hope for many generations to come.
See more of the world that matters - click here for home delivery of the International Herald Tribune.
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Yu Xiaogang:2006 Goldman Environmental Prize Winner
The Power of the Individual in a Land of Many Voices
Environmentalist Yu Xiaogang is creating groundbreaking watershed management programs in China, a country that has spent decades trying to tame its powerful river system by building hydroelectric power plants.
Yu, 55, created the Lashi watershed project after writing a social impact assessment on the effects of a dam built at Lashi Lake for his Ph.D. thesis. The dam had destroyed the local ecosystem, severely disrupting the lives of fishermen and farmers in the area. As farmland was destroyed by the dam, villagers turned to fishing. Then, as fish stocks dwindled, birds ate the seeds and grain from the remaining fields, further jeopardizing the people’s well-being.
Yu brought together residents, the local government authorities and private entrepreneurs to rebuild the area, which today is acclaimed as one of the top 10 sustainable developments in the country. Among the project highlights were establishing a township watershed management committee, a lake-based community fishery association to protect wetland ecosystems and fish resources, minority women’s schools and micro-credit loan programs, poverty reducing projects and road-building projects. All involved the participation and empowerment of the local villagers. It was the first watershed project in the county to involve NGOs, residents and the local authorities.
In 2002, Yu submitted a report to the central government on the social impact of the Manwan Dam on the Lancang (Mekong) River, which prompted the government to give the local community 70 million yuan ($8.7 million) in additional resettlement funds to mitigate the negative social impact of the dam.
In the past, dam-building plans were simply dictated by government officials, but today, thanks to the advocacy efforts of Yu and others, the Chinese government now includes a social impact assessment in the decision-making process for all proposed major development projects.
Taming the Three Parallel Rivers
While Yu’s work has illustrated dams’ potential negative impact on communities, huge dam projects still are being proposed. As China’s economic health improves, pressure increases to supply more power by building hydroelectric power plants on the country’s river system.
In 2003, the Yunnan provincial government announced plans to construct 13 new dams on the Nu River, one of the Three Parallel Rivers – the Nu, the Jinsha (Yangtze) and the Lancang (Mekong.) The Three Parallel Rivers and surrounding watersheds are a World Heritage Site, the epicenter of Chinese biodiversity containing virgin forests, 6,000 species of plants and 79 rare or endangered animal species.
The dams would forcibly displace 50,000 people, indirectly affect the livelihoods of millions living downstream in China, Burma and Thailand, and negatively affect the flora and fauna in the surrounding areas. Yet, development continues, despite the lack of river management plans, public input and participation by affected villagers.
The Legacy of the Lashi project
Yu used the story of Lashi Lake and Manwan Dam to educate villagers in the Three Parallel Rivers area, taking them by bus to dam-affected communities on the Mekong River. There, villagers saw men and women, their way of living wiped out by the dam, picking through garbage dumps for scrap to sell. Yu also worked with CCTV on a television program about the effect of dams that aired nationwide.
In 2004, Premier Wen Jiabao suspended plans for the dams on the Nu River, saying more research and scientific analysis was needed. The project still is on hold, but the provincial government, intent on building the dams, has proposed a scaled-back version with four dams.
Yu is particularly interested in empowering the local villagers in the dam decision-making process through workshops and training programs. In 2004, he took five village representatives to a United Nations symposium on dam issues in Beijing, where they met with high-level government officials, dam company CEOs and experts on dam construction. Yu’s goal is for Chinese NGOs to advocate for the institutionalization, implementation and practice of social impact assessments for the interests of communities that are threatened by dam construction.
“Having villager participation forever changed the history of the dam decision-making process,” Yu said about the experience. “In the past, affected peoples were silenced. They had no voice in what happened to them and had to accept decisions made by the government and dam companies.”
He Ping and International Fund for China’s Environment (IFCE)-Washington DC
Since its founding, IFCE has developed a range of influential programs facilitating partnerships and building capacity in China’s environmental movement. Specifically, we work with companies and other NGO’s to improve China’s access to green information technology, with policy makers to influence China’s environmental policy, and with grassroots environmental organizations and environmental education programs to improve Chinese peoples’agency in the environmental movement.
In 2002, IFCE was named one of several significant global environmental organizations by the United Nations. IFCE has been able to play a significant role in protecting the environment because of its numerous experts in the natural and social sciences. Our staff not only have a profound understanding of Chinese culture, they also have many professional connections within China.
Our Objectives:
- Promote the development, use, and popularity of new environmental technologies in China.
- Facilitate bilateral and multilateral cooperation among NGOs, governments, and corporations in solving environmental problems.
- Influence government actions on environmental restoration and resource conservation programs.
- Develop a program for public environmental education.
- Contribute to an increasing global awareness of the interrelations between environmental problems and human well-being.
Please contact us at:
2421 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20037-1718
USA
TeL 202-822-2141, 703-222-1280
Fax 202-457-0908
Email: ifce-adm@cox.net
IFCE-Beijing Office (Mr. Michael Zhao)
Suite 1005, Huixin Building
#8 Beichen East Road, Chao Yang District
Beijing 100101, China
Phone: 8610- 84974540.
Fax: 8610-65307918
E-mail: ifcechina@gmail.com
IFCE-Shanghai Office (Ms. Jane Ye)
Suite 3502,building 4,
88 Huichuan Road,
Shanghai, China 200042
Tel. +86-21-52738396
Fax. +86-21-52725792
Email: jye@easen-china.com
Jun 26, 2008
Meng Zhao Translating: Everyone A Changemaker – Social Entrepreneurship’s Ultimate Goal by Bill Drayton
人人皆是变革者 – 改造年轻一代(一)
有超过400名的Ashoka社会企业家正致力于帮助儿童和青年人有效地学习,进而取得成功。每一名社会企业家的战略都被证明影响广泛,并已初见成 效。49%到60%的Ashoka社会企业家,在其事业初创的五年内成功地促成了本国政策的转变。然而,她/他们的工作都是围绕单一的愿景或原则来展开, 采取单一的服务机制,以及针对一两类客户群体。Ashoka的“拼图”战略能够将这些强有力的社会企业元素整合起来,提炼出普适的原则,对这些原则进行专 业的营销与宣传,从而扩展各个领域决策者(比如那些主持学校和青年人项目的社会领袖)的战略视野。“拼图”战略能够提升社区整体的企业家素养和能力,从而 产生较之单个社会企业家更为深远的影响。
在这400多名从事青年项目的社会企业家中,大约有三分之二已经取得了三点共识或原则。她/他们 需要高素质的人才来实现其愿景,却难以找到足够的师资,于是诉诸于所服务的年轻人来解决自身人力资源短缺问题。第一项原则是:年轻一代是一个庞大的、最为 重要的、也可能是唯一可用的人力资源库。第二项原则是一个不同于传统的假设——即相信年轻人能够胜任社会变革工作。第三项原则在于:必须对年轻人所在的社 区进行改造,对年轻人进行培训和激励,以帮助她/他们胜任对社会变革的发动和组织工作。社会企业家们以成百上千种方式运用这三点原则,在世界各地创造出了 惊人的成就:富有创业热忱的学生、更加出色的学业成就、以及投身于社会变革之中的年轻群体。走近这些学校改革和青年人项目的人都会受到感染。
Ashoka 认识到还有另一个重要的原则:即那些不懂得使用移情(Applied Empathy)技能来指导自身行为的个人或群体终将被社会边缘化——一种残酷而且对个人成长具有破坏力的状态。然而这却是世界上30%的人所处的境遇。 帮助青年人掌握包括移情在内的社会技能可谓意义重大。解决这个问题的最佳策略之一是鼓励年轻人组建自己的团队来提供创新的服务,并最终导致可见的变革。这 要求她/他们必须掌握以移情技能为基础的团队工作技能。Ashoka从1990年开始将“拼图”战略应用于青年人项目。然而直到不久前Ashoka才认识 到:除非使年轻人成为社会上一支有力量的群体,除非使她/他们具备移情技能、团队技能和领导技能,否则“人人皆是变革者”的最终目标就不可能实现。可以 说,上述原则的重要性在于它们将有助于启动一个以年轻人为核心的历史性社会转变。
如果年轻人群体的力量不能切实增加,如果该群体不能投身 于推动社会变革并且实践上述三种技能,那么当其步入成年,她/他们的字典里将不会有社会创新与变革的词汇。一个人必须在人生头三年里发展出健全的情绪基 础,否则会苦恼终生。同样地,一个人需要在青年时期掌握和实践上述社会技能,并且学会如何成为社会中的强者。就移情技能而言,青年人必须能够了解自己的每 一件行为将如何影响他人,以及影响较远的未来,并且据此来调整自身的行为。这种技能是一个人融入现代社会的基本通行证。在复杂的现代社会中,一个人若想成 为合格甚至优秀的社会成员,她/他不能再仅仅依靠机械的处世规则行事,因为这些规则正愈发变得彼此冲突、变化无常或者模糊不清。结果是那些无法恰当运用复 杂社会技能的人将被社会排斥。移情技能仅仅是通往修炼团队和领导技能的第一步。就像学习芭蕾舞一样,需要对这些社会技能进行反复而广泛的实战演练。
赵 萌译自: “Everyone A Changemaker – Social Entrepreneurship’s Ultimate Goal”, By Bill Drayton (Chair and CEO, Achoka), in Innovations (2006, Winter), Published by MIT Press with Harvard University and George Mason University.
Jun 23, 2008
Young and Restless China
The PBS FRONTLINE documentary, "Young and Restless in China" explores what it means to be coming of age in China today. Starting in 2004, the film tracks four ambitious MBA graduates who are 2024 members as well as a media savvy hip hop artist, two migrant workers living precariously on society’s edge, a dedicated medical resident and a courageous environmental activist.
What happens along the way is surprising: some of those featured in the film find themselves torn between traditional culture and tantalizing new opportunities; several begin the heady ride to wealth and power. Some find love and resolve family conflicts, and others seem likely to crash and burn along the way.
As we watch these young people work, hang out with family and friends, sing karaoke or launch their first business, we come to know them in a rare, intimate way. In unusual detail, YOUNG & RESTLESS IN CHINA captures the highs and lows of coming of age in this time of China’s extreme transition and change.
Jun 19, 2008
Wang Canfa: One of the 45 Hoers of Environment by TIME in Oct 2007
Since China passed its first environmental-protection law in 1979, it has produced an extensive body of regulations to protect its air and water and the health of its people. But even as the law books expand, the country's pollution worsens. To many local officials, for whom developing the economy is the first priority, those rules might as well not exist. "From a traditional perspective, China isn't completely a nation of laws," says Wang Canfa, director of the Beijing-based Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims. "So when it comes to environmental protection [laws]," some local officials wonder: "What kind of law is this?"
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For the past eight years, Wang's group has used the courts to teach wayward officials and unscrupulous businessmen just what environmental law is. The center's volunteer attorneys file lawsuits to help people whose lives and livelihoods have been damaged by the toxic byproducts of China's breakneck expansion. Since starting in early 1999, the center has logged more than 10,000 calls and pursued over 100 cases, some with as many as 1,700 plaintiffs. Though the center loses about as many cases as it wins, it has managed to pull off some noteworthy victories. Its attorneys blocked an animal-testing lab from opening in a Beijing residential neighborhood, succeeded in getting a Hebei steel factory accused of pollution to move, and won a $730,000 ruling against a paper mill and chemical plant in Shandong province, after illegal discharges led to massive kills at fish farms.
Wang, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, runs the center out of a dark, cramped apartment building on campus. "Doing this work isn't easy," he says. "I'm not even 50 years old yet, and people look at me and say, 'You're pushing 60, right?'" He says his biggest frustrations come when local officials attempt to interfere in the judicial process to protect local industries. Anger over unchecked environmental destruction is one of the main sources of rural unrest in China. But even when his clients see justice denied in the courts, Wang urges them to avoid violent protest and continue seeking resolution through the law. "If you use force to solve the problem, the result will only be temporary. Look at Chinese history; there have been so many peasant revolts. They overthrow one emperor, then become just like the old emperor," he says. "When we lose a case, we don't go protest. We appeal and counterappeal. We think of another way, through the law, to win." It's a tortuous process. But when it works, a country that's struggling to make its laws mean the same thing in practice as on paper wins
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Profile: Wang Canfa received his B.A. degree from Jilin University in 1982, received his Masters degree from Peking University in 1988, and is currently the head of the Environmental and Resources Law Research Center at China University of Political Science and Law. During his 17 years researching and teaching environmental law, Wang has written "Environmental Law Textbook" and other works. On average, he publishes over 400,000 words a year and is a leader in one of the top ten disciplines at China University of Political Science and Law. His suggestion of defendants bearing the burden of proof in environmental law cases has already been added to the law. In order to help those victims of environmental issues, he's also suggested the "environmentally justified defense" theory. Wang is a professor who "uses his actions to interpret the law." Since1994, he has managed the "Lawyers Mailbox" for China Environmental News, answering questions related to environmental law. In 1996, he was the first person to begin providing legal assistance to victims of pollution in China and founded the first NGO, Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims in China, which provides pollution victims with legal aid. In 1999, he started the first NGO that provided pollution victims with a free legal aid hot-line, and was named "Number One Legal Aid Provider of Chinese Environmental Law," "Professor of Rights Protection," and "Number One Advocate for Pollution Victims." More than 30,000 people have benefited from his services. Starting in 2001, in order to promote the legal world's awareness of environmental protection, Wang worked with the National Lawyers Association, National Judges College, and other organizations to run research courses and train environmental lawyers and judges. As of now, 300 lawyers and 200 judges have been trained, and a national environmental lawyers network has been formed. In the past ten or so years, Wang has been one of the most active scholars in drafting legislation on China's environment and resources. Of the 20 or so laws and regulations on the environment and natural resources, he has been involved in over half of them. Currently, only 10% of environmental law provisos have been enforced. In order to change environmental laws' image of not being true laws, Wang has begun advocating for the creation of a public litigation system for environmental litigation. As a result of Wang's outstanding contributions to environmental protection, the State Environmental Protection Administration selected him as one of "China's Green Persons" in 2005. Time Magazine also selected him as one of the world’s 50 "Heroes of the Environment." Note: This article is sourced from articles written by Shang Jiecheng, Chen Yuanyuan, and Wang Qi, and others. |
著名环境法专家。参与国家多项与环境有关的法律起草工作。创立了全国第一个民间的向污染受害者提供法律援助的机构——污染受害者法律帮助中心,开通全国第一个民间的向污染受害者提供免费法律咨询的热线电话。
1998年创立了全国第一个民间的向污染受害者提供法律援助的机构——污染受害者法律帮助中心,并开通了全国第一个民间的向污染受害者提供免费法律咨询的热线电话;
从2001年起,连续5年在全国培训了269名律师和170名法官,建立了全国的环境律师网络;
10 月,中国政法大学教授王灿发被美国《时代》杂志评选为全球“环保英雄”,与他一起入选的还有美国前副总统戈尔和俄罗斯前总统戈尔巴乔夫。作为“中国环保法 律援助第一人”,8年来,王灿发坚持为地球说话,为环保受害者说话。他告诉《外滩画报》,他一生的偶像是马丁•路德•金,因为“他用一种非暴力的方式寻求 和平与平等”。
文/ 李琴 图/ 于楚众
10月22日,49岁的中国政法大学教授王灿发去给研究生上课,到教室后,20多位学生突然全体起立以示敬意。几天后,教育部到学校进行教学评 估,没有任何行政职务的王灿发作陪,校领导第一个就把他推了出来说,“王老师刚得了个国际大奖”。“全球环保英雄”,众老师笑呵呵地随声附和。
10月底《时代》杂志评选出全球45位“环保英雄”,大人物戈尔、戈尔巴乔夫等位列其中,王灿发看上去是个陌生的“小人物”。
《时代》总结了王灿发的成就:创立污染受害者法律援助中心,连续8年向污染受害者提供免费法律咨询,帮助100多起环境污染案件的受害者向法院提起诉讼,并推动中国环境法治的健全与完善。
其实王灿发在国内的名气不小,头衔也很多,比如“中国环保法律援助第一人”、“环境维权民间法律援助第一人”等。2001年,他获得“福特汽车 环保奖”一等奖;2005年,他再度当选国家环保总局首次评选的“绿色中国年度人物”。王灿发个子矮小,他也毫不讳言这一“缺陷”,在一次论坛上,他自我 调侃说:“我的身材比较环保,所以这个桌子容易挡住我。”个子虽小,精力却是惊人,王灿发自己也说,“一个人干了4个人的活,要带本科生、研究生和博士 生,每天都只有5、6个小时的时间睡觉,一直在超负荷工作。”王灿发去年考了驾照,买了一辆白色小车,每天来回跑,“这样省不少时间。”
“我知道我做对了”
成立于1999年的污染受害者法律援助中心,在中国政法大学一幢有些破败的红色小楼一楼,小楼又称“文化楼”,在校的学生多数不太熟悉其位置所 在。援助中心很小,二室一厅的格局,摆着几张办公桌,打印机挤在卫生间里,墙上贴着值班表,电话就搁在下面,号码是010-62267459,这是全国第 一个向污染受害者提供免费法律咨询的热线电话。只要接受采访,王灿发都要求将这个号码刊登出来,“每次采访见报,前来咨询的电话就多起来。”
王灿发提供援助有三个原则,重大的、典型的和当事人非常贫穷的。他承认,很难做到遍施甘霖,钱就那么多。他做了一个粗略的统计,“8年一共接到 1万多个投诉,迄今已经处理了104起案件。”时隔8年,这个第一家污染受害者法律援助中心仍然是中国唯一的“专打环境污染案件”机构。曾经有人问王灿 发,能否在中国复制另一个援助中心。有人在河北做过类似的尝试,但一年之后就难以为继了。“做这样的组织需要一个精通理论和实践的人,有人理论比我精通, 但他们案子做得少,我的优势在于,既带课,又接案子。”王灿发在《中国环境报》做过多年的“律师信箱”,解答过各种读者来信,“什么样的案子我都碰到 过。”另外一个优势是,中心有一个庞大的志愿者团队,日常有40多人轮流值班,一般是在校研究生,不拿任何报酬。
王灿发是山东成武人,父母是农民,他高中毕业后曾回乡务农。王灿发从不讳言自己的农民出身,“我只能凭自己的努力走到今天。”正因如此,他自称不会过于在乎金钱,“我有同学当律师,去年一年就挣了700万。但对我,钱够用就好。”
1984年,王灿发成为厦门大学的第一位环境法教师。次年,他考入北大环境科学中心攻读研究生,毕业后转入中国政法大学教授《环境法》。
1995年,王灿发在《中国环境报》上看到了一起案子,江苏邳州一个养鸭大王的4000只鸭子10天之内就死光了,靠此为生的农民由一个富户转 眼之间就变成了一个穷光蛋,住在窝棚里,贷款没法还,求救无门。王灿发给这家人写信,说愿意为他们打官司。穷农民请来了“中央的大律师”,这在当地引起轰 动。案子最终胜诉,受害者得到了赔款40万元。
王灿发自此就动了念头,成立一个援助中心,之后几年,就是找赞助,到处游说。1999 年11 月1 日,免费法律咨询热线开通。前一天,他在《北京晚报》上发了一条不足100 字的短消息。“这一天我们接到了50 多个求助电话,有的人还抱怨我们老是占线,这时我知道我做对了。”
2001 年,王灿发再接再厉,开办环境法律实务研习班,培训全国的律师和法官,每年100 人,今年还多了环保局执法人员。把他们请到北京,让各大学、高法和环保总局的专家给他们讲课,并管吃管住。只让他们承诺:律师,每年至少办一件环保案子 (在当地有环保案的前提下);法官:公正执法;至于邀请环保执法人员,王灿发的解释是,“我们迫切希望环保执法人员能够依法治污,很多污染损害都是从没有 严格执法开始的。”
“很多人听到免费培训,以为是骗子,不愿意来。还有江西律师发帖说,不能去,是骗局。”
王灿发的环境官司
王灿发走在漩涡中心。
10 月30 日给研习班讲课,王灿发滔滔不绝连续讲了4 个小时,通篇只说了一个字:难。他在谈到环境纠纷的第一个特点时,就指出了环境官司难打的实质所在:环境纠纷的加害人往往是能够给当地创造税收和就业机会 的污染企业“。既然这个企业能够给当地带来税收,就会受到当地的政府部门或暗或明的保护。”王灿发总结经验:“起诉难,法院不愿意受理;取证难,官司打到 最后,法官还是要求原告取证;判决难,中心接到的案子,都是那些按法律、法理必胜的案子,实际胜诉还不到50%;执行难,案子判了,钱拿不到。”
参加研习班的律师几十位,记者一个个问过去,回答千篇一律, “没有接触过环境官司。”河北冀信律师事务所的马延军通过网络报名参加了这一期的研讨班,他接过不少官司,惟独没有环境官司。“不好打也没人愿意打,时间 长,而且很难有结果,委托的人也少,许多受害者都处于观望状态,四处上访也不愿打官司。这种官司往往涉及到与政府的博弈,这就需要律师有奉献精神。”王灿 发接手的所有的案子都在证明一个“难”字。
在GOOGLE 上键入“石梁河”,出现的答案多是“石梁河水库污染案”。这个江苏和山东两省交界处的人工湖一向默默无闻,但因为一起王灿发介入的污染案持续多年成为媒体 关注的焦点。1999 年7 月9 日,因水库上游涌入大量工业污水,致使水库上游300多只网箱内所养的鱼全部死亡,惨剧在同年9 月和次年6 月再度发生。逆流而上,江苏一养殖户发现污染源在山东临沭县境内的一家造纸厂和一家化工厂。此后,他们到处投诉上访,2001 年3 月,出席全国人大九届四次会议的江苏省32 位人大代表就此问题联名提案,悬而未决。事隔多年,王灿发对这起97个养殖户联名起诉案仍然印象深刻。养殖户到了北京,他很快决定接受这起案子, “这个案子非常有典型性。”案子没有任何悬念,判得很快,当年12 月,连云港市中级人民法院一审判决两家污染厂停止损害,赔偿养殖户经济损失560多万元。被告再度上诉,次年,江苏省高院维持原判。
情况却急转直下。过了两年,一切如旧,赔偿款一分未到。尤令王灿发惊奇的是,当山东省铁路法院接受养殖户的申请对被告进行强制执行时,发现被告 所在市、县两级法院竟于一天之内对两个企业下达了7份调解书,将企业的财产转移,导致无钱可以执行。至今回想此事,王灿发仍愤愤不平,后来他出面以中心的 名义上书最高人民法院,题目是《关于地方法院制造虚假文书的反映》:“法院竟然帮助被执行人转移财产逃避生效判决确定的债务,使这些正义的人间化身彻底背 叛自己的角色和使命⋯⋯”
事情在媒体上炒得沸沸扬扬,在最高人民法院执行局的一位副局长的督办下, “赔偿款最终全部执行到位,没有任何截留。”
另外一件也是大案子:福建省南屏县1721 人诉榕屏化工厂案,此案被中华全国律师协会评为2005 年十大影响性诉讼之一。《南方周末》报道此事的标题为:《1643 名村民VS 亚洲最大氯酸盐化工厂》。这也是一个环境损害的典型案例,化工厂一方财大气粗,受害者一方人数众多,这个以种植毛竹的小村庄在1990 年至1994 年间,只有1人患癌症死亡,1999 年至2001 年的两年,17人死于癌症,成为轰动一时的“癌症村”。当时《新闻联播》记者前去采访,县领导多方搪塞,播出那天,全县强制停电。
案子打得艰难,拖了多年,直到2005 年5月村民们得到了一审判决:他们原本要求判赔1033 万余元,法院却只判赔24 万余元。村民再度上诉。12 月上旬,期待了多年的村民拿到了二审生效的判决书,一审判赔的24 万余元在二审仅变更为判赔68 万多元。王灿发耿耿于怀的是,这笔钱至今未能到位。王灿发总向人推荐一部好莱坞影片《永不妥协》,大嘴茱利亚•罗伯茨因此片获得奥斯卡影后,片中讲的也是 环境污染纠纷的真实案例,一个没受过高等教育的小律师打赢了3 亿美元赔偿的官司,创造了美国历史上同类民事案件的赔偿金额之最。他又说, “在中国这样的事情不会发生,赔偿难,金额小。”王灿发是狮子座,他说自己外表开朗,但心事重重。他最得意的案子是潘家园南里居民状告北京市规划委,当时 是“非典”时期,北京市规划委批准卫生部的两个研究所在潘家园南里建动物实验室,作为饲养和解剖动物的场所,居民担心做动物实验时,细菌跑出来造成疾病传 播,便找到王灿发,提起诉讼,并最终胜诉。“这是北京市第一个老百姓告规划委并最终胜诉的案例。”他有些得意。
“我希望你们都能当法学院院长”
中国一年究竟有多少环境纠纷?王灿发给出的是国务院环境保护行政主管部门每年一度的环境统计公报的数据,仅反映到环保部门的环境纠纷,1999年就达到25万件,2000年甚至超过30万件,2001年则超过了40万件。
王灿发画了一条环境纠纷年度曲线,从1993年以来,曲线处于上升趋势,幅度越来越大,但相关的政策却没有发展。他也参与立法,曾主持和参与 《固体废弃物污染防治法及细则》、《大气污染防治法》、《海洋环境保护法》、《放射性污染防治法》等重大环境法律、法规起草及修改等工作。但这些法律、法 规里都没有涉及环境纠纷的内容,即使有,也是只言片语。目前法院接手的环境案件很少,老百姓更愿意上访而不是起诉,立法部门也就没有动力来制定相关法律 了。
每年春节,人大法工委都会邀请北京有影响的法学专家前去座谈,之前一直没有找《环境法》的专家。2005年,王灿发作为唯一的环境法专家参与座 谈,按资排辈发言,但最终也没有轮上他。王灿发说,“《环境法》在学界还缺少话语权。”每次讲课,他总开玩笑,“希望所有搞《环境法》的都能当法学院院 长,这样影响就大了。”
好消息是情况越来越好,同事侯佳儒之前学的是《国际法》,后来转学《环境法》,“在未来10 年,这会是一个热点。”侯佳儒说,学校正在计划将《环境法》研究单独拿出来,由王灿发挂帅,做大做强。“《民法》、《刑法》等和国外力量相差悬殊,而《环 境法》历史不过几十年,大家起步差不多,还有竞争的可能性。”对于《时代》杂志评选出的“环保英雄”头衔,王灿发也说,“从某一方面来看,至少代表着国际 社会对中国环境保护工作进步、中国环境法治进步的认可。”
《时代》杂志将评选出的45 位“环保英雄”称之为“地球代言人”。开篇语写道:地球虽然是大家的,但它不会说话。地球不会为自己说话,因此必须有人为它说话。
王灿发援助的对象是处于环境纠纷中的弱者。他喜欢说的一个词是“制度”,研习班的讲课临近结束,他讲了个例子,太原市人民检察院旁边是个制药 厂,一直受到废气污染,但努力十多年情况依旧。“谁都是弱者,真正好的制度就是保护弱者的权益,要建立起这样一种制度,即保证任何人的权益不受非法侵 害。”
王灿发的学生写博客称其是偶像。记者追问王灿发谁是他的偶像,他思虑许久,回答是马丁•路德•金, “他用一种非暴力的方式寻求和平与平等。”
(http://www.sina.com.cn 2007年11月27日15:21 外滩画报)