In the autumn of 1999, before the autumn wind had time to hit the green leaves that had not yet withered, a row of sycamore trees over 50 years old on Zhanyuan Road in Nanjing faced the fate of being felled - the reason for the felling was the road. expansion. A media reporter called an old scholar, who immediately contacted eight professors from Nanjing University, Southeast University, and Nanjing Forestry University. When they arrived at the scene, a large tree had been sawed off.
Eight professors jointly wrote to the city government calling for the protection of trees. This incident alarmed the reporters of the People's Daily, so the next day's East China edition of the People's Daily published a headline on page 14 titled "These trees should not be cut down." The trees were ultimately saved, and so were the traditional spaces surrounding the garden. In 2001, shortly after the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway was opened to traffic, four of the six rows of sycamore trees on the Zhongshan Gate section of Zhongshan East Road were ordered to be cut down in order to provide a fast lane for high-speed vehicles to enter Nanjing. As a result, more than 20 experts and scholars jointly wrote to the Ministry of Construction, asking our builders to "show mercy."
The Minister of Construction personally went to Nanjing to understand the situation and agreed with the experts' suggestion to "cut down two rows and keep four rows", otherwise Nanjing will be disqualified from being a green city. Although four rows of trees were saved, the two rows of trees that were cut down were still heartbreaking. On March 15, 2001, "Southern Weekend" expressed its deep regret under the title "Death of Trees." When Marshal Liu Bocheng was the mayor of Nanjing, he saw a wooden stick on the roadside of the mountain and asked if the trees in Zijin Mountain had been cut down. At that time, the person who cut down the tallest tree on the mountain was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Premier Zhou Enlai inspected the Purple Mountain and found someone cutting down trees. He severely criticized: "No matter how poor the country is, it cannot touch a single tree on the Purple Mountain."
Today, the people on the Purple Mountain are 20,000 trees are undergoing large-scale felling for the first time in the 55 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China.
The old man was in tears
Song, a 70-year-old garden engineer, stood on Purple Mountain. Looking at the scene in front of him, he was so sad that he couldn’t open his eyes: This place used to be a lush and green place. The original forest now only has bare loess and broken tree stumps.
The felled virgin forest is located in the Shanghuangma Reservoir and Lower Huangma Reservoir on the east side of Zijin Mountain, and Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is located on the south side of Zijin Mountain. Lao Song, who has worked at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum for 42 years, told reporters that in the minds of Nanjing people, the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and the Purple Mountain are integrated - "Destroy the Zijin Mountain and destroy the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum."
The first people to discover someone cutting down trees on Zijin Mountain were the villagers of Huangma Village. Villager Liu Fugui said that at the end of August, he saw someone cutting down trees in the forest, but no one took care of it. Lao Song didn't believe it at the time. "In the 55 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, no one has been so bold."
On October 24, Lao Song and more than 40 veteran workers who had worked in the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Administration Bureau (hereinafter referred to as the "Administration Bureau") came to the Shanghuangma Reservoir and were shocked by the scene in front of them. . "They don't use saws to cut down trees, but use large excavators to dig all the way." Someone recalled the scene at that time, "Many of the trees that were cut down were buried directly underground." A 70-year-old man who came to the scene for the first time trembled with his lips and kept repeating: "What on earth are they doing? What on earth are they doing?
Forty old workers immediately worked together to build a tunnel The wall blocked the excavator's progress, but the excavator did not stop. It waved its iron arm and passed over their heads. Four large excavators carried out "sweeping" in the forest for 24 hours, first using the excavation arm. The trees were cut down directly, and then someone came immediately to clean up the remaining branches and leaves. Finally, the stumps were sawed off and even the roots were pulled out. The old workers rushed to the lower reaches of Huangma Reservoir and found that the same situation was there. Based on their experience. It is estimated that the total area of ??the two destroyed forests is nearly 100 acres, and nearly 20,000 trees were cut down. They could not believe the fact before them: a garden worker mistakenly cut down a diseased tree on Zijin Mountain. An administrative demerit was given; 9 years ago, a garden worker illegally cut down 28 fir trees and was sentenced to two years in prison.
This group of old people cried because this is Purple Mountain. The best-protected virgin forest in the world, with a wide variety of trees and a perfect ecology. When I walked into the mountains before, I could hear birdsong everywhere, and deer and deer were playing in the forest. 10 years ago, I could even see wolves by the lake. Drink water.
Who cut down the trees?
On October 23, the reporter interviewed the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Administration Bureau. A staff member surnamed Liu on duty at the bureau’s office explained: "The construction on the east side of Zijin Mountain is the East Area Project of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Comprehensive Management Project. The headquarters will not cut down trees, but will only transplant or clean up miscellaneous trees according to procedures. "But garden engineer Lao Song expressed doubts about "clearing miscellaneous trees": "Even clearing miscellaneous trees below 5 cm requires strict planning and approval. What's more, all the trees that were felled were more than ten centimeters or even tens of centimeters in diameter at breast height. "The reporter found on the Nanjing Municipal Government website that Ning Zheng Ban Fa (2004) No. 126 "The Municipal Government Office Regarding the Establishment of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Comprehensive Management Project. Notice from the Eastern Project Construction Headquarters (hereinafter referred to as the "Eastern Project Headquarters" - reporter's note). -Reporter's Note) Notice", which mentioned that the Eastern Engineering Command was established to "further strengthen the leadership of the construction of supporting facilities for the '10th National Games' and improve the tourism service function of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Scenic Area." The issuance date is September 24, 2004.
At the Zijinshan construction site, the reporter found the specific construction unit - Nanjing Huangma Real Estate Co., Ltd., and found the full name of the construction project "Nanjing's Eastern Reception Center' (tentative name) expansion project".
The reporter searched for relevant information about "Nanjing Huangma Real Estate Co., Ltd." on the Internet. According to a person familiar with the matter, the company was funded by the government department and was formed specifically for the "Eastern Reception Center" expansion project. The reporter asked several staff members of the company, and they all said that they "were just recruited and don't know much about the company."
Director Dai of the General Department of Real Madrid Real Estate Company explained that the procedures for cutting down trees are subject to strict approval. He refused to disclose the specific number of felled trees, but emphasized that every tree cut down was approved by the Garden Management Office of the Sun Yat-sen Cemetery Administration Bureau in accordance with normal procedures. A staff member surnamed Wang from the Landscape Management Office of the Administration Bureau said that the number of trees felled this time was indeed very large and was rare in history. However, Huangma Company’s procedures for tree felling were complete and they are currently working with Huangma Company. Take an inventory of the trees that need to be cut down together. "Maybe the construction company's work is urgent, so they cut it first."
"How can it be reasonable to cut down trees first and then count them?" Lao Song, who has been dealing with trees all his life, couldn't help but jump up: "According to the procedure, after getting the felling permit, the counting should be done The number and type of trees to be felled must be determined before they can be cut down under the supervision of relevant departments. "
Huangma Company stated that it had notified the Sun Yat-sen Cemetery Administration regarding the first phase of the project on September 30. The application was submitted, "921 trees need to be transplanted and 811 trees need to be cut down." After receiving the application, the Administration Bureau requested the Nanjing Municipal Government for instructions in the form of a document on October 12. Huangma Company submitted the application on October 13. After the application for transplantation and felling is approved, transplantation maintenance and other related work shall be carried out as required. However, veteran garden workers believe that the actual number of trees cut down is far more than this number. "Transplantation? Where is the transplanted tree? The growth period of the trees in September and October is not completely over. If a tree is transplanted, it will die!" Regarding the approval obtained by Huangma Company, lawyer Sun Qiaosheng from Zhongmeng Law Firm also expressed had different opinions.
According to the "Nanjing Zhongshan Cemetery Scenic Area Management Regulations" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), the Administration Bureau has the right to approve the felling of "a small number of worthless trees" of less than ten. If "more than ten trees are felled" It shall be pre-examined by the administrative bureau and submitted to the Municipal People's Government for approval."
"The "Regulations" do not stipulate the upper limit of approval by the Municipal People's Government." Lawyer Sun Qiaosheng told reporters: "According to the second paragraph of Article 16 of the Forest Law, the occupation and expropriation of special-purpose forest land exceeding 10 hectares shall be reviewed and approved by the forestry department of the State Council."
" The higher-level law "Forest Law" is higher than the lower-level law "Regulations". Lawyer Sun Qiaosheng explained that the trees in the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Scenic Area are special-purpose forests. If the planned area of ??2,000 acres of the Eastern Reception Center Renovation and Expansion Project is exceeded, it has far exceeded the upper limit of 10 hectares. Jiangsu Province has no right to review it, and it should be reviewed by the State Council. The forestry administrative department shall report to the State Council for review.
On November 1, a reporter called the Administration Bureau to inquire about the specific logging approval status. A staff member named Han in the office said that it was "inconvenient to be interviewed" and asked the reporter to "see the general office of Huangma Company." Director Dai".
Initiating a project without authorization?
What is "project"? What is a "project"? What is a "project"?
According to the "Regulations", "other construction projects other than those planned for scenic spots and detailed plans shall not be constructed within the planning control area." The woodland being cleared falls within planning control areas. However, in the "Detailed Plan for Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Scenic Area" officially approved by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Construction on October 26, there is only a plan for the "Huangma Waterfront Leisure Park" on the northeast side of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, and the reporter did not find the "Eastern Reception Center" expansion project of any project. "Building a leisure park only requires one pavilion and two paths. Where will thousands of acres of land be used?" said an old garden worker. As for the renovation and expansion project of the "Eastern Reception Center", the old garden worker said, "I have never heard of such a unit as the 'Eastern Reception Center'."
A staff member of the Administration confirmed this to reporters: "There has never been an 'Eastern District Reception Center' in Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. There used to be an 'Eastern District Recreation Center' on the roads surrounding the mausoleum area, covering an area of ??11,000 square meters, has existed for 7 years. 10,000 square meters, has existed for 7 years." According to local media reports in Nanjing, the "Oriental Leisure Center" located in the planning and control area of ??Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum was classified as an illegal building at the beginning of this year and was completely demolished on August 16.