China’s Lax Pollution Officials Get Relocated Near Reeking Rivers

After failing for two years to motivate local officials in the South China city of Shantou to clean up brackish, stinking river water, central government environmental inspectors came up with a new way to bring them to their senses.

Force them to live at the river’s edge and experience the daily smells themselves.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment didn’t specify which rivers were involved or the cause of the smell.

Central government enforcement officials discovered that little had been ...