What Did China’s ‘Green Teams’ Accomplish?

China’s green inspection teams just wrapped up a two-year, nationwide inspection.

By Leigh Wedell, as featured on The Diplomat

After two years traversing the country, China’s green inspection teams are back in Beijing and the results are in: 29,000 businesses and more than 18,000 people have been held accountable for violating central-level edicts to clean up the environment.

How did the “green teams” hit these staggering numbers? They turned to the outraged public, which reported upward of 135,000 infractions. One of the highest concerns of the Chinese public — and a prime cause of protest in China — is the sometimes-deadly state of China’s air, water, soil, and food.