Regulating Land and Pollution in China, Lawmaking, Compliance adn Enforcement: Theory and Cases

470 Pages·2006·1.95 MB·English

by  Benjamin

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compliance, and enforcement in a comparative perspective. d

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Benjamin van Rooij works as an assistant professor at the Van l
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In 2006 Leiden University has initiated a series Leiden Disserta- i
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tions at Leiden University Press. This series affords an opportunity
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to those who have recently obtained their doctorate to publish h
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the results of their doctoral research so as to ensure a wide n
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distribution among colleagues and the interested public. The
dissertations will become available both in printed and in digital
versions. Books from this LUP series can be ordered through
www.lup.nl. The large majority of Leiden dissertations from 2005
onwards is available digitally on www.dissertation.leidenuniv.nl.
lup dissertations
LUP leiden university press
Rooij.indd 1 31-10-2006 9:26:34
Regulating Land
and Pollution
in China

Lawmaking, Compliance, and Enforcement;
Theory and Cases

Benjamin van Rooij

Leiden University Press
The research this book is based on and its publication have been made
possible by grants from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and
Sciences, the Faculty of Law, Leiden University, the Leiden University Fund
(LUF), and the Van Vollenhoven Institute, Leiden University.

Cover design: Leiden University Press
Lay out: B. van Rooij

isbn-10 90 8728 013 0
isbn-13 978 90 8728 013 0
nur 820

© Leiden University Press, 2006

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no
part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner
and the author of the book.
Regulating Land and Pollution in China
Lawmaking, Compliance and Enforcement;
Theory and Cases

PROEFSCHRIFT

ter verkrijging van
de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden,
op gezag van de Rector Magnificus Dr. D.D. Breimer,
hoogleraar in de faculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen
en die der Geneeskunde,
volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties
te verdedigen op 14 december 2006
klokke 16.15 uur

door

Benjamin van Rooij

geboren te Leiden,
in 1973
Promotor: Prof. dr. J.M. Otto
Copromotor: Prof. dr. J. Chen
Referent: Prof. dr. ir. P.P.S. Ho

Overige leden van de promotiecommissie:
Prof. dr. R.A. Kagan
Prof. dr. W.J.M. Voermans
Dr. A.W. Bedner
Dr. W. Huisman
to my parents

Contents

Acknowledgments | ix

List of Abbrevations | xiii

Introduction

1. Legal Change at Lake Dianchi, Legislative and | 1
Enforcement Efforts to protect Natural Resources in Kunming

Part I Lawmaking and Legislation

2. Law in the Books, Process of Lawmaking and | 25
the Implementability of Legislation, Theory and China

3. Bargaining on the Land Bill, How Central Concerns for | 50
Food Security Lead to Strict Legislation

4. Cleaning Up Pollution Legislation, From Bargaining | 68
to Stricter Norms

5. China’s Legislative Challenge, Lawmaking and its Effects | 98
on Compliance, Enforcement, and Goal Attainment

Part II Compliance and Violation

6. Why People Obey the Law, Regulatory Compliance | 107
and Violation, China and Theory

7. Lawful Construction, Land Compliance Cases from Kunming | 130

8. Attempts at Abatement, Pollution Compliance | 150
Cases from Kunming
9. Kunming’s Hunger for Land, Understanding | 171
Land Violation Cases

10. Why Contamination Continues, Pollution Violation | 191
Cases from Kunming

11. Law and the Complexity of Reality, Why Actors | 210
Comply or Violate

Part III Enforcement and Political Campaigns

12. The Enforcement Gap, A Theoretical Approach to | 227
Regulatory Enforcement

13. Punishing Violations, Regular Enforcement | 261
in Kunming and China at large

14. Movements of Law, Political Legal Campaigns to Enhance | 306
Enforcement in Kunming and China

15. Ad Hoc Law Enforcement, Insights about Regulatory | 352
Enforcement Strategies and the Influence of Political Power

Conclusion

16. Regulating Lake Dianchi’s Land and Pollution, | 363
Conclusions about Lawmaking, Compliance, and Enforcement

References | 388

Samenvatting (Dutch Summary) | 438

Curriculum Vitae | 451
Acknowledgements

Without guanxi, or personal connections life is difficult, this research has
taught me. And I do not just mean the kind of instrumental favor seeking
guanxi practices, corruption in China is so often associated with. No I mean
that without the knowledge, support, company, humor, criticism, warmth,
and cooperation of others the present work would not have been possible.
Guanxi are reciprocal, and it is in recognition of this fact that I now realize
the tremendous debt I have built up over the years of doing this research.
The warm welcome I have received in the three villages, here called
Jiacun, Licun and Baocun, and the factories at Lake Dianchi has impressed
me. I know how difficult it is to accept a stranger in a community, especially
when this stranger sets out to learn about local problems. People at Lake
Dianchi have warmly welcomed me to their homes, their offices, factories
and rice paddies. While always remaining on guard when sensitive issues
were involved, Dianchi’s villagers and factory managers have given me the
time and opportunity to talk with them and learn from their experiences. My
warmest thanks goes out to the people living and working around Lake
Dianchi, although I cannot name them in person.
Another debt of gratitude I owe to the many Chinese civil servants,
both local as well as national, who helped make this research possible. Since
the start of this research, I received great help from civil servants at SEPA in
Beijing. Especially Bie Tao, with whom I cooperated in a training program
for Chinese environmental law enforcement officials, has over the years been
of great help. It is through his advice that I started to look at law
enforcement campaigns. In addition, he helped me several times to get in
contact with the right local officials. First in Chengdu and later in Kunming,
local law enforcement agents in the EPB, and later SLB and DMB, have
been as cooperative as possible, and sometimes even beyond that. I want to
thank these local enforcement officials especially. I know how difficult their
work is, especially with the low status and bad reputation their work has. I
have been impressed by the willingness they had to meet me and to invest a
significant amount of time answering my sometimes, sensitive questions.
This research could also not have been possible without the help of
people working at academic institutions. For my work in Chengdu in 2001
and 2002, Sichuan University, its the Faculty of Law and the College of
Environmental Science and Engineering in particular, have been important. I
would like to thank especially Lu Hongyan who made a tremendous effort to
help me meet the right agents and inform me of local enforcement problems.
I would also like to thank Helen Reynolds, who helped me to make my first
contacts after just arriving in 2001. In addition, I would like to thank all the
other staff and students at Sichuan University who have helped during my
fieldwork.