EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Environment 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 222 Moe Hans Henrik (University of Oslo) The Social Consequences of Air Pollution Control: A View From the Countryside Key words: countryside, air pollution, environmental protection, popular views The substandard air quality in many Chinese cities has caused both public outcry and ambitious policy initiatives. This paper explores to what effect the attempt to clean up the city air is affecting the less strictly regulated rural areas. TheAction Plan on Prevention and Control ofAir Pollution (2013–2017) mandates that a series of concrete measures intent on reducing particulate matter emissions are taken across the country, with a special emphasis on urban areas in cities above prefecture level. An implementation gap between central government policies and local fulfillment exists, however. To balance emission reduction require- ments with economic growth performance goals, local governments have been known to include on the list of shut down production facilities factories that have gone bankrupt, have remained idle for years, or have restarted production or reappeared elsewhere. Based on data collected through interviews and participatory observation in a rural community, this paper asks how the residents negotiate the promise of local devel- opment, income opportunities and tax revenue brought by industrial enterprises, and the concomitant risk of environmental degradation, in particular the prospects and experiences of air pollution. Environmental protection campaigns of the past have taken a variety of shapes in different localities, affecting various social groups in ways sometimes far beyond the intention of the policy makers. By adopting the perspective of ‘environmentality’, this paper sheds light on how the state shapes and reproduces different segments of its citizenry through air pollution control. Shen Yongdong (University of Oslo) Chinese Talks Against Pollution? New Dialogues Between Factories and Residents Key words: air pollution, dialogue, policy, factories, EPB This paper analyses the process and effects of local government strategies to improve the outcomes of indus- trial air pollution prevention measures in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. Previous research has focused on how public participation influences local governments’ action in the field of environmental policies, yet very little attention has been paid to how local governments themselves strategically mobilize the public to improve the effectiveness of such policies. We investigate how the Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) of Hangzhou City started to employ so-called “triangular consultations” to implement anti-pollution policy in its jurisdiction in recent years. This dialogue mechanism brings together local residents and polluting enterprises as well as other government agencies. Sharing transparent information in the process of these consultations, apparently, helps the local EPB to regulate polluting enterprises and to handle local residents’ complaints. The paper draws on data from interviews with local government officials, involved residents and managers of polluting enterprises since early 2014, as well as from government documents, NGOmaterials and newspaper reports.Acomparative case study approach is used to examine how “triangular consultation” works in practice and develops over the course of very different stages and cases. Moreover, the diffusion of this local innovation as a tool of pollution policy enforcement across the whole Hangzhou area is documented. We conclude that this new institution is able to facilitate industrial air pollution regulation and discuss whether this consultation mechanism represents institutionalized forms of public participation in environmental governance. Svarverud Rune (University of Oslo) Air Pollution and Conceptual Change in China Key words: conceptual change, air pollution, history, health, media The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between air pollution, air pollution awareness and conceptual change in modern China. Since 2012 terms like wumai 霧霾 (smog/haze), PM 2.5, and chouyangqi 臭氧氣 (ozone) have become everyday terminology in the Chinese language. Air pollution in