Person of the Year, A Farmer making China Green

Chen Fei, a farmer in east China's Zhejiang Province, won the title Green China Person of the Year in 2008. The award was presented to Chen and other recipients at a ceremony held in Beijing last December. He won the honor for his outstanding contributions to environmental protection initiatives.

Supported by the United Nations Environmental Program, Green China Persons of the Year is a national award sponsored by seven Chinese government institutions including the State Environmental Protection Administration, the National Environmental Protection Committee, the Ministry of Culture and the State Administration of Radio. It is China's highest honor for people who have made exceptional contributions to environmental protection.

Chen Fei and eight others were chosen to receive the award after a nationwide selection process that combined results from internet polling, media surveys and opinions from a panel of experts.

54-year-old Chen Fei lives in Zhu'an(珠安) Village of Yongjia(永嘉) County in Zhejiang province. He looks tanned and healthy and dresses simply. The only title printed on his name card is President of the Association of Green Environmental Volunteers in Yongjia County. Last year, he was elected as a deputy to the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.

When he flew to Beijing to attend the NPC conference last March, he brought 56 vegetable baskets and 3,000 handkerchiefs along. He distributed a handkerchief to every deputy, then gave the baskets to deputies from the 56 ethnic groups. He even handed a bamboo basket to the then-Vice Premier of China Zeng Peiyan (曾培炎).

"I brought the baskets I made at home to the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing. I also presented baskets at the Beijing Olympic Games. I wish everyone use baskets instead of plastic bags for shopping. Then the water in the rivers would be clean."

In the past eight years, Chen Fei has traveled to 19 provinces promoting environmental protection. He has spent more than 300,000 yuan, almost 40,000 US dollars, to provide environmentally-friendly baskets to people free of charge. He hopes only to arouse awareness of environmental protection through his actions.

Chen Fei's pursuit of environment protection started in childhood. His hometown is located in a scenic area along the Nanxi (南溪) River. The water in the river was so clear that one could see to the bottom of it. It made people relaxed and happy. Chen recalls his happy childhood.

"The Nanxi (南溪) River was very beautiful. I'm the third child in the family and my job was to pasture cattle in the afternoon after school was over. I always carried a basket along, and when I went home, I brought home a full basket of fish caught from the river. There were plenty of good fish in the river because the water was unpolluted. There were no plastic bags. The water in the river was as pure as today's bottled mineral water. People could drink the water directly from the river."

In August 2000, a flood hit the Nanxi River, and loads of plastic bags flowed in from upriver. After the floods receded, plastic bags were found all along the riverbanks and hanging on trees.

The flood had a disastrous impact on the river and the surrounding scenic area. Chen Fei believes it was people upriver who damaged the environment. He worries about the future of the river and its environs.

"Plastic bags were found at least 300 kilometers along the Nanxi River. Yongjia County has a population of 500,000. If everyone uses one plastic bag a day, that would be 500,000 plastic bags consumed and dumped every day. When there are floods, they all wash into the river."

Plastic bags are not biodegradable, so they are classified as "white pollution." But how can people use fewer plastic bags? Chen came up with an idea to pick up the out-of-date baskets again and encourage people to use them instead of plastic bags when shopping.

"I didn't invent baskets. They have been used for generations. Let's say an average household prepares four dishes a day. If they shop with a basket, then each household would save at least four bags every day. The basket can more than meet their needs."

One autumn day nine years ago, Chen Fei, who had never bought vegetables at a market, took a dozen of his homemade baskets to the biggest vegetable market in the township.

There, he lectured the crowd, calling on people to pick up baskets again and say goodbye to plastic bags. Having dumped their baskets decades ago, people were curious about what he was saying.

Chen explained that plastic bags not only pollute the environment, but the substances used to make them are harmful to people's health. His promotion that day ended with a lot of people nodding in agreement, but few accepted his advice and took the baskets he was offering free of charge.

"People were saying to me that I was not going to make it. Others said that I would stop when I became famous for it. No matter what they said about me, I didn't give up."

An old Chinese saying goes, "all things are difficult before they are easy." Gradually, more people came to understand him and accept his idea.

In May 2005, Chen made his village China's first without plastic bags. At his own expense, he gave out 800 bamboo baskets to all the households in his village. Another 10 baskets were distributed to vegetable stalls and grocery stores to rent to customers.

He has also helped organized a series of cleaning activities around the village.
After the villagers cleaned the Nanxi River, Chen Fei decided do something beyond his village. He soon initiated the county's Association of Green Volunteers to rally as many people as possible to promote environmental protection.

"The example of our village has led more and more people to join us in using baskets. Every morning, you can see almost all the elderly people holding baskets as they do their morning shopping. It has become a trend."

The success of his green programs has made Chen Fei known throughout Zhejiang Province. In return, he's gotten support from people in all walks of life who are interested in environmental issues.

"When we go to Zhoushan (舟山) City for a promotion, we are always given discounts on our taxi fares when the drivers know that we are environmentalists. In 2002, at a hotel in Beijing, we were charged 180 yuan for each 500-yuan room for the same reason."

Chen Fei's efforts have prompted related departments of the central government to issue a series of laws restricting the use of plastic bags throughout the country. Last June, the government banned the production, sale and usage of certain foil-type plastic bags in the country. Customers also have to pay for all other plastic bags they use.

Due to his excellence in promoting environmental protection, Chen Fei was granted the Earth Prize Award in 2006. The award is jointly presented by the China Forum of Environmental Journalists and Friends of the Earth Hong Kong to honor individuals and organizations fully committed to environmental protection on the Chinese mainland.

In the same year, he was nominated for a Ford Motor Company Conservation and Environmental Grant, and next year's Green Person of the Year.

"I am a farmer, and I am also an environmentalist. My whole life is for environmental protection. This is my ultimate goal."

As spring arrives, Chen Fei is starting his next project. He will travel the whole country on foot to promote his basket program. With his perseverance and devotion, he hopes to influence more people to join him.

I logged onto Chen Fei's blog and found one paragraph that really demonstrates his passion: "The white pollution is so shocking. No matter what difficulties I face in the future, I will still devote myself to the course of environmental protection. It is the obligation of a citizen. Use a basket, and say goodbye to plastic bags."