China's environmental protection chief Saturday appealed for more media coverage of the country's environmental protection efforts.

Nearly 50,000 civil servants are employed to confront thousands of polluting enterprises in China, and they need the support of media, said Director Xie Zhenhua of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).

Xie said at the second congress of a national environmental protection journalists' association that China will continue its anti-pollution efforts, and called for help from the media.

Regular press conferences will give the latest news of the government's work on environmental protection, information about law-breaking cases, environmental quality report and developments in environment-related legislation work, Xie said.

SEPA Deputy Director Pan Yue said the soaring demand for steel and cement had caused more pollution problems in China.

Pan said the journalists specialized in environmental protection reporting can make their contribution by playing the media's role in supervising the work of related law-enforcement departments.

(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2003)