In the first case of its kind against a government department, Chinese prosecutors successfully sued a county environmental agency for not adequately punishing a sewage firm that was producing dye without the necessary safeguards. On June 20, China's top prosecutor, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, announced that prosecutors had proved the environmental protection department in Eastern Shandong dealt with the Qingshun Chemical Technology Company illegally. In 2014, it was found that the firm produced dye without adequate safeguards. The Eastern Shanodong environmental protection bureau only imposed nominal administrative punishments and did not prevent the company from starting trial operations. The case was filed in December 2015, and described at the time as China's first "administrative public interest litigation case" after the National People's Congress had earlier authorized prosecutors to file such lawsuits in a pilot program. For the full story, see http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-environment-idUSKCN0Z7039.