China says thousands arrested suspected of environmental crimes

Chinese police arrested thousands of people suspected of environmental crimes last year, a minister told parliament on Monday, as the world's most populous country vows to get serious on protecting the environment. Facing mounting public pressure, leaders in Beijing have declared a war on pollution, vowing to abandon a decades-old growth-at-all-costs economic model that has spoiled much of China's water, skies and soil. Beijing has repeatedly promised to strengthen monitoring and law e