"Why can’t China have just one river that isn’t destroyed by humans?"

"Well, since there supposedly is no problem in drinking this water, please forward this message, if you agree, to ask Shanghai’s party secretary, mayor and water authority leaders if they will be the first ones to drink this meat soup?"

"If we don’t start caring for the environment then after 20 or 30 years our children and grandchildren might be wearing gas masks and carry oxygen tanks"

"I think it is inevitable that when a society is developed to a certain level, certain phenomena will naturally arise, this is regular. For China … we are now in a sensitive period especially in terms of environmental issues,’’ he said. ‘‘At the same time we are beginning to see a phenomenon called ‘not in my backyard.’"

"We don’t trust them at all; we think [their promise] is a stalling tactic… We’ll still keep our eyes on them."