Title: "Confiscation" of "coal" for the elderly: the impact of environmental protection policies and heating demand.
A news that Uncle Liu, an elderly man in his 70s in Hebei, was accused of "confiscating and clearing" for buying environmentally substandard coal, caused a sensation. In a section of **, the staff suddenly appeared at the door of Uncle Liu's house, as if they were about to take away the coal they bought. This sparked a lively discussion about the quality of the new coal, the authenticity of the notification, and the conflict between environmental policies and the heating needs of the elderly.
On December 5, in a township in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, several staff members unexpectedly appeared at Uncle Liu's house, and they immediately took pictures of the coal stacked by Liu's family for evidence. The old lady came out to reason with them, but then several people with tools seemed to take the coal away. The reason is said to be because Uncle Liu buys low-quality loose coal that does not meet environmental protection requirements, and the local ban on burning such coal.
As soon as this news was published, it immediately caused a strong response on the Internet. Uncle Liu said in an interview that he lived with his wife and bought some coal to cope with the cold winter. However, the staff accused them of buying low-quality coal and then took it all without providing any receipts. Uncle Liu questioned how the staff could know so quickly that their family had loose coal, and it turned out that it was because they did not buy the coal designated by the village, so they were inspected at home.
As the temperature gradually drops, netizens have expressed their worries about the elderly in winter. However, the local government issued a notice saying that the staff had not collected the coal from the elderly, emphasizing that they had been explaining the dangers of loose coal and providing clean briquettes to replace them. However, Uncle Liu insisted that the coal he bought was not inferior and was not satisfied with the clean briquettes provided locally. This incident has sparked thoughts and controversy among netizens about environmental protection policies, economic costs and the living needs of the elderly.
The relevant department explained that only a small amount of coal was taken and clean briquettes were provided, but Uncle Liu was unwilling to replace it. They said the practice was illegal and referred to some of the adverse environmental and health effects of high-sulphur coal burning. However, netizens also pointed out that the new coal is of poor quality and needs to be purchased in large quantities to achieve the heating effect.
The incident also revealed the contradiction between the heating needs of the elderly and environmental protection policies. The impact of the policy on the lifestyle of the elderly cannot be ignored, and it is more necessary for the first department to strengthen publicity and explanation to help the elderly understand and accept the new policy, and at the same time, it is also necessary to prevent the production and use of low-quality coal. In fact, similar incidents occurred as early as 2018 and in the previous two years, exposing the difficulties that older people have in understanding and following policies.
All in all, there is a certain contradiction between the living needs of the elderly and the implementation of environmental protection policies. These issues should be addressed through more comprehensive advocacy and policy improvements, making environmental policies more humane and universal, so that older persons can also better adapt and accept.