BETWEEN JANUARY AND OCTOBER some 16 people have been detained on suspicion of undermining the natural resources in the Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve, Northwest China's Gansu province, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Monday. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Tuesday:

Established in 1988, the Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve is home to rich mineral and water resources, which have been the victim of deforestation, illegal mining and unauthorized hydropower exploitation for years. As an ecological protection area in western China and an important source of water for the Yellow River, the reserve deserves better protection.

Insufficient environmental protection enforcement no doubt emboldened illegal exploitation activities in the reserve. The longevity of the illicit exploitation of natural resources, which President Xi Jinping repeatedly urged the local government to deal with between 2014 and 2016, suggests that something has gone very wrong in local governance.