On April 27th, 2023, at 19:00 pm, Mr. Chen Haisong, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of Wuhan University Law School and Young Changjiang Scholar, was invited to give a lecture on Xi Jinping's Thought on Ecological Civilization and the Construction of Environmental Rule of Law in China at Southeast University through Tencent Conference. More than 600 students participated in this lecture through the online platform of Tencent Conference. Mr. Liu Qichuan, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Dean of the Law School, attended this event.

Before the lecture, Mr. Liu Qichuan extended a warm welcome to Prof. Chen Haisong and briefly introduced Prof. Chen's profound academic accumulation and fruitful innovative achievements. Mr. Chen is a renowned expert in the field of environmental resources law, and has made great achievements in the areas of national environmental protection obligations, ecological environment, rule of law of political parties, environmental law interpretation theory, and ecological civilization system. In the report of the 20th Party Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has discussed many topics on the construction of ecological civilization and the idea of rule of law, and this academic feast brought by Prof. Chen can help us to have a deeper and more systematic grasp of this.

Firstly, the new ecological concept of nature is that if ecology flourishes, civilization will flourish, if ecology fails, civilization will fail, and man and nature will coexist in harmony; secondly, green water and green mountains are golden mountains, and the new economic development concept is that protecting the environment is protecting productivity; thirdly, mountains, water, forests, fields, lakes and grasses are a new system of life community; fourthly, environment is people's livelihood. Fourth, the environment is people's livelihood, the people's demand for a better life is our goal of new livelihood performance concept. The specific requirements and institutional arrangements of Xi Jinping's thought on ecological civilization can be divided into the following points:

The first point is to adhere to the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. Man is an animal in the environment, and the combination of various environmental elements, including beautiful landscapes, can make people reach a comfortable state, which also creates nostalgia and memory, in essence, people establish an organic and intrinsic connection between themselves and the natural environment. Returning nature to tranquility, harmony and beauty means that when people are in the middle of the beautiful landscape, they will feel a kind of sublimation of their soul, which is also the inherent requirement of harmony and coexistence between man and nature.

The second point is that green water and green mountains are the silver mountain of gold. The famous Two Mountains theory emphasizes the dialectical relationship between economic development and environmental protection, and we should have a deep understanding of it. The Two Mountains theory is a comprehensive norm that concerns the spatial pattern, industrial structure, production methods and lifestyles. During his work in Zhejiang, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the Two Mountains theory in Anji County, and now the local green industry is developing with bamboo culture as the core, which shows that ecological value is the real golden rice bowl. The spirit of Sehanba has become an important part of the spiritual spectrum of the Chinese Communist Party, which shows the great significance of insisting on green development; the successful experience in the management of the Mawusu Desert shows the reality and specificity of the two mountains theory.

The third point is that a good ecological environment is the most popular welfare of the people. We should adhere to the ecological benefit to the people, ecological benefit to the people, ecological for the people, focus on solving outstanding environmental problems that harm the health of the masses, accelerate the improvement of the quality of the ecological environment, provide more high-quality ecological products, strive to achieve social justice, and constantly meet the growing needs of the people for a beautiful ecological environment; to enhance national awareness of conservation, environmental awareness, ecological awareness, cultivate ecological ethics and code of conduct, and carry out universal green action. Mobilize the whole society to take practical action to reduce energy and resource consumption and pollution emissions, and contribute to ecological environmental protection; whether the people are happy and satisfied is the most important criterion for evaluating ecological construction.

The fourth point is that mountain, water, forest, field, lake and grass are a community of life. Prof. Chen Haisong explained the concept of systematic protection of ecological environment embodied in our legal system in the context of the new Law on Ecological Protection of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau announced by the National People's Congress on April 27 and the Yangtze River Protection Law adopted in 2020. It is very innovative and representative for China to promulgate special legislation for a specific region or river basin, such as the implementation of a ten-year ban on fishing in the Yangtze River basin, which reflects a very resolute and thorough protection attitude.

The fifth point is to protect the ecological environment with the strictest system and the strictest rule of law. This strict both for the destruction or exploitation of the ecological environment of the perpetrators, but also for the party and government leading cadres. The strict responsibility of party and government leading cadres can be said to be the most changed area since the 18th National Congress, in practice, whether the leading cadres at all levels really to fulfill the responsibility of protecting the ecological environment to carry out a strict assessment of accountability, and strict punishment when problems arise. Professor Chen Haisong took the ecological protection of the Qinling Mountains in recent years as an example. In the face of local problems such as ineffective instructions and shirking of responsibilities, a special task force from the central government was stationed in Shaanxi Province, and local leading cadres were held strictly accountable. From an institutional point of view, the concepts of party and government responsibility, double responsibility for one post, consistent authority and responsibility, and lifelong accountability in party regulations have played a central role in ecological environmental protection.

The sixth point is to work together to build a global ecological civilization. According to Prof. Chen Haisong, China is a responsible country in the international community that really raises the banner of addressing climate change and actively reducing emissions. The European Union, caught in an energy supply dilemma since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has returned to the old path of traditional energy; the United States has long tried to restrict the right to development of the vast number of developing countries with the blockade of carbon emission rights. In promoting international cooperation in ecology, we should focus on strengthening cooperation with developing countries, so that people all over the world can share the fruits of development, instead of making developing countries become the feeders of developed countries.

At the end of the lecture, Prof. Chen Haisong summarized some of his own experience in research and gave detailed answers to the questions raised by the students on the balance of interests in the field of ecological protection, climate change litigation, related party regulations, and the development of new energy vehicles. In this two-hour lecture, Prof. Chen Haishong used his profound theoretical knowledge and rich practical cases, combined with his excellent political education and advanced research methods, which made the students feel as if they had entered a mountain of treasures in terms of research topics and research methods in the field of ecological environment and rule of law, and came home with a full load. The lecture was a complete success.