MCLC: 5 benefits of severe air pollution

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Timothy J.T. Pi <timothy.pi at gmail.com>
Subject: 5 benefits of severe air pollution
***********************************************************

Source: China Real Time blog, WSJ (12/10/13):
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/12/10/state-media-effort-to-spin-th
e-5-benefits-of-chinas-smog-falls-flat/

State Media Effort to Spin the ’5 Benefits’ of China’s Smog Falls Flat
By Brittany Hite and Liu Jing

Increased instances of lung cancer. Respiratory problems. Asthma. Even
ugly sperm. The list of noxious side effects China’s notorious
pollution causes is well known – a point one Beijing newspaper felt
compelled to make in a commentary following recent state-media efforts to
spin the country’s smog.

“It’s beyond one’s imagination to find ‘positive energy’ to unite the
people in smog,” the Beijing Times said Tuesday (in Chinese
<http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2013-12/10/content_482959.htm?div=-1>).
“But for some people, one way to show their existence is to treat a
funeral as happy event and find pleasure in disasters.”

The commentary came a day after an essay posted on the website of China
Central Television outlined the “five surprising benefits” of the
country’s severe air pollution (in Chinese
<http://gs.people.com.cn/n/2013/1209/c183343-20102656.html>): it unites
people, makes them more equal, raises citizen awareness and knowledge and
leads to an elevated sense of humor.

The pollution “unifies the Chinese people” and “makes the country more
equal,” the essay noted, as citizens unite around a common complaint that
doesn’t discriminate based on age, residence or income.

While it wasn’t clear whether the piece was meant to be genuine or
satirical, neither official media outlets nor members of China’s online
community took too kindly to the broadcaster’s apparent attempt at putting
a positive spin on the toxic air.

“We lost the sight of blue sky in the smog, but we see clearly an ugly
face instead,” the Beijing Times argued.
China’s bloggers offered up to CCTV their own suggestions of benefits from
the pollution.

“Add this to the list: the opportunity to go abroad!” one user of Sina
Weibo, China’s biggest Twitter-like microblogging platform, wrote.

“In the smog, people cannot be seen clearly, so everyone looks more
beautiful because all their imperfections are hidden by the smog,” another
quipped.

Social media users also had took exception to a report in the Global
Times, a nationalist-leaning tabloid published by the Communist Party
flagship newspaper People’s Daily, that argued the country’s smoky skies
benefitted China militarily by interfering with enemy surveillance and
weapons guidance systems.

“These media people are disgusting,” wrote
<http://weibo.com/1494723892/Amy5Ur33S> local IBM
<http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=IBM>
executive George Chen. “They have no professional bottom line.”

Global Times editor Hu Xijin, writing
<http://weibo.com/1989660417/AmuWVdSsk?mod=weibotime> on Sina Weibo,
responded by saying Internet users had taken a “serious topic” and made a
joke of it.

Last week, Shanghai and other parts of Eastern coastal China were hit by a
bout of pollution 
<http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB100014240527023040961045792417609126
85556>, the severity of which is normally seen only in Beijing and other
northern areas, with Shanghai’s pollution level at one point more than 16
times the limit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets for an
average 24-hour period. The smog forced nearly 100 flight cancellations as
well as some school closures in the region, with officials calling on
factories to close and commuters rushing to stock up on face masks and air
purifiers.

The pollution isn’t only taking a toll on residents’ lungs and sperm—it’s
also hurting China’s image abroad. A survey released in the fall showed
the number of tourists
<http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/10/31/beijing-air-pollution-drives
-50-drop-in-visitors/> to Beijing had fallen roughly 50% in the first
three quarters of 2013, due at least in part to the poor air quality.

China’s leaders have acknowledged the country’s pollution problem. In an
economic reform blueprint
<http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/11/15/cleaning-up-china-reform-pla
n-tackles-pollution/> released last month, top Communist Party leaders
said they would levy taxes on natural-resource use, beef up monitoring,
let markets have a greater say in resource prices and make other moves,
though they didn’t specify timelines.

Amid all the gloom and doom, one Weibo user noted there is at least one
serious benefit from the pollution: its spurs consumption the country so
badly needs to rebalance its export-driven economy.

“Smog has increased the consumption of face masks and hospital bills, it
promotes the textiles industry and cotton planting, contributing to
national GDP,” the user said. “As the saying goes, distress rejuvenates a
nation.”

Both the CCTV essay of the Global Times story have been removed from their
respective organizations’ websites.