You want clean air or a warm house?

What’s on Weibo translates a social media posting that has been widely circulated in China complaining that in many parts of northern China, although not Beijing, “the heating, that is often envied by many people in the South, has not arrived as scheduled.”

• A Chinese government plan to move away from coal to ease pollution required millions of people in northern China to convert to cleaner fuels, such as natural gas, for heating and cooking.
• But it does not yet seem to be feasible to replace coal with alternative energy sources, and natural gas is too expensive for many rural households and small towns.
• “The Ministry of Environmental Protection, in an urgent letter to 28 northern cities on Monday, said residents could continue using coal to power their winter heating systems or use other means such as burning firewood to keep warm in places where the transition to natural gas or electricity hasn’t been completed,” according to Caixin. 

In related news:

• Reuters: China fines for environmental violations up 48 percent from Jan-Oct: ministry
• Bloomberg: China winter gas binge pushes it toward No. 2 LNG buyer spot, Chinese copper smelter halts capacity to ease winter pollution

• Railways in Africa
  Getting Nigeria’s railways back on track with China’s help / BBC
• Venezuela
  China’s Sinopec sues Venezuela in sign of fraying relations / Reuters
• Human rights
  China, accused of abuses, hosts human rights forum / AFP
• War with North Korea
  North Korea says U.S. threats make war unavoidable as China urges calm / Reuters
• Japan and the East China Sea
  Japan, China agree to open hotline to avert military clash over Senkaku Islands: Asahi / Asia Times
• Big brother
  Beijing extends powers of state security agents under counter-espionage law / SCMP