Editorial | Banyan tree fellers root of the problem
- Action taken against Guangzhou officials following the chopping down of much loved features reflects the swing to environmental protection, which Hong Kong would do well to follow
For too long during China’s modernisation, economic growth was paramount at all costs, including environmental damage. The breakneck pace of industrial development and urbanisation exacted a heavy toll through violation of air, water, earth, flora and fauna that was ultimately unsustainable.
So competitive was the drive for growth that environmental activists and local action groups all too often found that officials brushed aside their concerns, or even branded them troublemakers. Many more kept their feelings to themselves to avoid strife.
It provoked the ire of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection – the Communist Party’s watchdog, which said it had “destroyed the natural ecological environment and historical and cultural features of the city, and damaged the people’s beautiful memories and hurt their feelings for the city deeply”.
The destruction was part of an urban upgrade plan issued by the city’s housing and urban-rural development authorities. The banyan is native to southern China and widely planted in cities such as Guangzhou and Fuzhou because it provides shade. Residents complained many had been replaced with poinciana trees.
The discipline commission’s censure sends a loud and clear message. Hopefully it will prevail in the face of inevitable pressure from state and private development interests. Preservation of people’s living natural heritage is positive for social harmony. It complements the Communist Party’s goal of common prosperity.
