On February 5, Mr. Yuan, an operator of a hotel in Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province, released a video saying that three individuals claiming to be from the environmental protection department visited the hotel. They demanded the installation of an oil fume purifier within three days, with fines ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 yuan for non-compliance. The video has stirred up discussions online.
According to Mr. Yuan’s interview with mainland media outlet “First Scene”, he stated, “Our hotel is a small, old establishment that has been operating for nearly a decade. This is the first time something like this has happened to us.”
Mr. Yuan expressed that the daily customer flow in the hotel is only two to three people, spending around 8 to 10 yuan each, similar to cooking at home. He argued that installing an oil fume purifier is meaningless, especially since their hotel mainly serves Korean dishes like mixed vegetables. Despite this, the staff insisted that failing to install the purifier would harm China’s blue skies and lead to fines ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 yuan. This mandatory measure has put pressure on Mr. Yuan.
In response to this incident, the municipal administrative service hotline personnel in Jiamusi stated that they had not received any such notification and suggested reaching out to the ecological environment bureau for clarification.
Due to it being outside of regular working hours, the media reporter was unable to contact the Jiamusi Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau.
Following the exposure of the video online, many netizens voiced their opinions. Some said, “Regular oil fume purifiers are basically an IQ tax, not only ineffective but also affecting smoke emissions. Unless you install a large-scale one, but who among small business owners can afford that?” Others commented, “Many small restaurants may not even make a net profit of 50,000 yuan in a year.” Another user remarked on the wide range of fines, stating, “From 5,000 to 50,000 yuan, the discretion is considerable.”
Some netizens questioned, “How can so few businesses in Jiamusi be polluting the skies?” and “Are factories that emit pollutants required to install purifiers?” Doubts were raised on the authenticity of the environmental concern posed by the authorities.
Many criticized the authorities for arbitrary fees, with one user noting, “If you visit in person, you’ll discover many unknown departments,” while another shared, “I once found out that even barber shops have to pay for environmental assessment testing.” The situation in the north was described as chaotic, with incidents like breaking into establishments in Datong in recent days.
This regulation does not seem limited to the northern regions, as a netizen from Yunnan province commented, “We were mandated to install one last year, costing over 2,000 yuan.”