On December 26th, 2020, China passed a new law to protect the Yangtze River, the “mother river” of China. It is Yangtze River Protection Law. It took effect (生效) on March 1st, 2021. It’s the first law to protect a waterway in China.

The 6,397-kilometer Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia. It provides one third of the freshwater resources (淡水资源) for Chinese people, but it has met lots of environmental problems in recent years, such as heavy pollution and overfishing. Especially, the river’s Chinese paddlefish (白鲟) has died out. So the “mother river” is in great need of protection. To solve these problems, China put a 10-year fishing ban (禁令) to protect fish resources.

According to a report of the government, the fishermen said they would give up fishing along the Yangtze River to protect the “mother river”. Chinese officer Han Zheng said that more support should be given to the fishermen to help them find new jobs and places to live.

Yangtze River Protection Law includes resource protection and green development. The government says the purpose of the new law is to strengthen (加强) environmental protection, use resources well and make the development sustainable (可持续的).

【小题1】When did Yangtze River Protection Law take effect?
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【小题2】How long is the Yangtze River?
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【小题3】Why does the Yangtze River need great protection?
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【小题4】How did the fishermen protect the Yangtze River?
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【小题5】What does Yangtze River Protection Law include?
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