For August, we shine our water-proof light on environmental activist (and green favorite) Wu Lihong, who is currently serving a three-year prison sentence in China for seeking to prevent chemical companies from dumping untreated waste in Lake Tai, China’s third-largest freshwater lake. August marks the one year anniversary of Wu’s imprisonment.
Wu Lihong, named one of China’s top 10 environmentalists in 2005, has been collecting water samples from Lake Tai in eastern China for more than 15 years and submitting reports on its worsening condition. Wu’s arrest came as he was planning to travel to Beijing to present evidence of pollution to the central government. One week before he was to present his case in Beijing, 50+ officers raided his home, arresting him and confiscating his computers and files. Wu’s claims that the government and big business were polluting and endangering the ecology of a water system that provides water for over 2 million people were not popular with authorities.
Water samples collected by Wu Yilong from Chinese urban rivers and lakes. Photo: Teh Eng Koon/AFP/Getty Images
Lake Tai, China’s third largest lake, was once known for its crystal clear waters, whitefish, white shrimp and the hairy crab. The waters from the lake were used to irrigate rice patties as well as — through natural and man-made canals — provide a means of shipping out produce from the area. The Chinese also valued this area for its beauty. Last year, a few months after Wu’s arrest, the lake was completely overtaken by fluorescent green pond scum. The horrid smell that accompanied it was so powerful that anyone within a mile’s distance was taken back by its strong odor. Over 2 million people who lived around this area were forced to stop drinking from this main source of water because of the pollution.
In the 1980s, the northern area of Lake Tai, with the support of the local government, became home to 2,800 chemical plants. The 300 plants in the area where Mr. Wu lived manufactured adhesives, food additives and solvents. While working as a factory salesman Wu decided he could no longer smell the putrid air in the region, or stand by while the local area became more and more polluted. Wu quit his job and dedicated years of his life to trying to get the factories that were polluting the once beautiful lake to clean up the water and surrounding lands. Factory runoff and waste dumping created conditions condusive to algae blooms, which have polluted the water with a toxic blue substance and a foul smell, making the water unusable. In addition to the look and the smell of the contaminated water, local farmers began wearing gloves while tending their rice patties because the irrigation water caused their skin to peel off.
Between 1998 and 2006, Wu reported over 200 incidences of regulatory violations and pollution to the environmental protection agency located in the local province. Despite intense opposition from some locals and the government, Wu continued his work and began gathering water samples as evidence to show to the authorities. On the night of April 13, 2007, dozens of police officials and state security officers raided Wu’s house, seizing the evidence. Prosecutors indicted Wu on two charges of blackmail. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
As we cast our collective gaze toward China this month, let’s all remember the eco-Olympian who had dedicated his life to improving the lives and environment of others.
