Yixing purple clay has been accused of illegal mining repeatedly, Jiangsu officials: will crack down severely, no mercy.

The illicit extraction of purple clay mud at Qinglong Mountain in Taihua Town, Yixing, has been reported for four years. Despite multiple reports by the public, the illegal activities continue unabated. Local law enforcement authorities claim it is difficult to catch the perpetrators in the act. On December 2nd, leaders of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Natural Resources and officials from relevant departments participated in a live broadcast program called "I Will Help You Ask the Secretary" to address the issue. In response to the persistent illegal extraction of purple clay mud in Yixing, Zhang Guoliang, the head of the Provincial Department of Natural Resources, declared: "We maintain a zero tolerance attitude towards all illegal extraction activities, will harshly crack down on them, and will never tolerate them."