Shen Yueyue, vice-chairperson of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, leads an inspection of the enforcement of the Yangtze River Protection Law in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, from Aug 15 to 18, 2022. [Photo provided by Civilians Herald, a monthly publication of the Standing Committee of Chongqing Municipal People's Congress]

A team led by Shen Yueyue, vice-chairperson of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, inspected the enforcement of the Yangtze River Protection Law in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, from Aug 15 to 18.

Shen called for the full, accurate and comprehensive implementation of the new development philosophy and more progress in protecting the mother river of the Chinese nation in accordance with the law.

The inspection team heard reports on the law's enforcement by the municipal government and related departments, and held discussions with deputies to the local people's congresses at all levels and frontline workers.

The team also visited the Wanzhou Economic Development Zone and Wushan county to conduct field checks on endeavors associated with ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation, cultural heritage protection, environmental management, and emergency response.

In recognizing Chongqing's achievements, Shen said that the law has facilitated progress in the prevention and control of pollution and ecological civilization advancement in the Yangtze River basin since its enactment a year ago, it has also provided strong legal guarantee for the region's high-quality economic and social development.

She also urged more efforts to address the hidden risks in the river's ecological environment, promote the law's publicity and education, crack down on illegal fishing and sand mining, and to strengthen regional and inter-departmental collaboration to advance the progress. 

During the visit, Shen also stressed the necessity to further identify and fill the gaps in the law's enforcement and adhere to whole-process people's democracy in pooling all resources to fully enforce the law.