Su Liu is the Great China co-ordinator and policy researcher for Hong Kong-based public policy think tank Civic-Exchange, and also the China representative of the C40 Cities - Climate Leadership Group. She was previously the deputy managing director of the Gallup Organization HK and a communication strategist with Wirthlin Worldwide Asia.
According to the Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) for 2008 -2020, formulated by the National Development and Reform Commission, cities in the PRD are progressively converging into one urban cluster, forming the most densely populated urban corridor in China. The nine prefectures in the region were home to 56.15 million people at the end of 2010, according to the Guangdong Statistic Book 2010. Given that Guangzhou alone expects to have 20 million people by 2020, it is entirely possible the total population of the PRD could double by that time.
In the 15 years since it returned to Chinese sovereignty Hong Kong has survived many uncertainties and crises but the place still lacks a sense of “staying vigilant in peace time”, in order to better prepare for future challenges. This is especially so in the case of water, a key issue that has been neglected for too long.
The Dongguan–Shenzhen Water Project started to export water to HK in 1965, since when it has seldom suffered from water restrictions. In the past 30 years, HK has been able to supply water 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
The environment is a closely related organism, rather like human beings. In modern medicine, what contribute the most to human health are not advanced diagnostic methods, nor the invention of a variety of cure, but the creation and practice of preventive medicine.
Ancient Chinese physicians called preventive medicine "cure before it develops into a disease" (“治未病”). There was a saying: "After a symptom develops into a disease, to treat it, is like trying to dig a well when you are dying from thirsty. It would be too late
China's environment is sick, suffering not just a single, isolated disease but widespread epidemics. This is indisputable. And no matter how thoroughly we analyse individual causes, it is clear that without fixing its ill-fated development model, China will be forever chasing its pollution problem and will never get ahead of it.
The country is once again in urgent need of an emancipated mind-set, redefining the concept of development to address today's conditions and to bring order out of chaos.
The cadmium spill in Guangxi province has been the headlines for a few days now and there could be more to come. With two out of the three main tributaries of the Pearl River (西江和北江，the west and the north tributary Xijiang and Beijiang) now contaminated with cadmium, will the Dongjiang (东江，the east tributary) be next?
Many people in the Pearl River basin are very concerned about the current situation in Guangxi but few remember that seven years ago there was an even worse cadmium spill close by, on a section of Beijiang that runs past Shaoguan 韶关市) in Guangdong province.
After four years in action, the “appliances to the countryside (家电下乡)” policy has just concluded. Meanwhile, the “farmers into high-rises （农民上楼）” movement of recent years, mired in intense controversy, is going full-steam ahead.Looking at the most apparent differences between urban and rural lifestyles, these two vigorously implemented policies for “benefiting the people” have ostensibly shrunken the gap between rural and urban living.
“Those who live in the city want to bail out, while those who live outside of the city want to rush in (“城里的人想逃出去，城外的人想冲进来”)”. The famous motto in Qian Zhongshu’s "Fortress Besieged" (1947) is – more than marriage – a portrayal of urbanization in China today.Why do people in cities want to bail out and why do those outside want to rush in? Where are they going? Where do they want to go?
In the absence of a good governance system China’s “Power the Nation” dream is pushing the country into rapid environmental deterioration. Throughout this year, the alarm bells have been ringing:
Every two years the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group convenes a major conference that brings together mayors, their senior staff and business leaders from major cities around the world. Through a comprehensive programme of interactive sessions, delegates learn from each other's experience, share best practices and identify collaborative projects.
This report by the World Bank spells out what the world would be like if it warmed by 4 degrees Celsius, which is what scientists are nearly unanimously predicting by the end of the century, without serious policy changes.
Companies in Asia reveal expectations that regulations that could lead to rising costs for reporting and reducing GHG emissions will also be the main sources of climate-related business opportunities.
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