A top Chinese legislator has asked the media to help the government in controlling pollution.

During an annual media tour, where journalists representing 28 state media outlets tour the country, Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, Wu Bangguo, called for a greater role for the media in raising awareness of environmental issues in China.

Wu suggested that the media should create public awareness surrounding energy use and conservation, and should cover environmental problems facing the country - more specifically calling for in depth reports on issues that get the most complaints.

This 2007 media tour is focused on topics of energy consumption and pollutant emissions - both areas that the central government are falling behind on in their targets. Although much of the state run media is, well, controlled by the state, utilizing the media to help in emission reduction and energy use targets is a good move for the country and could mean we'll see more coverage of these issues (both positive and negative) in China and beyond.

Via China.org.cn