%0 Journal Article
%T Citizen Complaints about Environmental Pollution: A Survey Study in Suzhou, China
%A Xianbing Liu
%A Yanli Dong
%A Can Wang
%A Tomohiro Shishime
%J Journal of Current Chinese Affairs
%D 2011
%I German Institute of Global and Area Studies, (GIGA)
%X This paper discusses environmental complaints made by citizens living close to industrial polluters in China. Data collected from a questionnaire survey in Suzhou City is used for the analysis. The results confirm a marginal level of citizen environmental complaints in the study area at present. Meaningful findings include the fact that citizens have a tendency to complain collectively, and that perception of the level of environmental information provided by companies significantly determines a citizen¡¯s likelihood of lodging environmental complaints. Therefore, the disclosure of corporate environmental information must be emphasized continuously; citizens must be encouraged to correctly understand the environmental performance of companies so that they might make appropriate complaints. Governments need to show their support for citizen-led environmental complaint initiatives. The successful cases would convince them to keep a closer eye on their neighbouring polluters.
%K Political science
%K Environmental policy
%K pollution
%K citizens
%K environmental conflicts
%K Suzhou
%K 320
%K China
%U http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jcca/article/view/459