Editor's note: A recent official draft amendment to an environmental protection law will give only the All-China Environment Federation to create environment-related litigations. The Beijing News recently discovered that the ACEF's members consist of companies that are heavy pollutants, which is contrary to the organization's claimed principle. Excerpts from the Beijing News column:

Thanks to the recent debate over the environmental law, the organization that bears the name All-China Environment Federation is universally acknowledged. But few people know that the ACEF has many enterprises as members that are heavy polluters.

That casts doubt upon its neutrality. According to the founding charter of the ACEF, the member council has considerable sway in decision-making. Therefore, how could these enterprises sue themselves for pollution?

There are examples of environmental organizations cooperating with enterprises in other countries, but the process is transparent and they never allow polluting enterprises to cast any influence upon the decision-making. Besides, the ACEF is funded by the State and there is little supervision of the organization.

It is necessary for the ACEF to change its ways by limiting the memberships of enterprises, or it will be a divided house that can hardly stand.