BEIJING - There is further evidence this week to suggest that Chinese authorities are cracking down on polluting enterprises in the textile sector. China's Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) has announced that Chinese enterprises were fined 264 million yuan (US$38.3 million) for polluting the environment in the first quarter of this year; many of these enterprises were operating in China's textile sector. In one case highlighted by the MEP, a textile and dyeing plant in Zhejiang Province was found to have forged water quality monitoring data after discharging untreated wastewater. Eight people responsible for the case have been placed under 'coercive measures', which may include summons by force, bail, residential surveillance, detention and arrest.
