New film on China's pollution sparks debate, seen as milestone

Alexandra Harney PlanetArk 3 Mar 15;

Could "Under the Dome", Chinese journalist Chai Jing's new documentary about pollution, become China's "Silent Spring", the 1962 book that spurred the development of the U.S. environmental movement?

Since it was released online on Saturday, the film has been viewed more than 150 million times and has sparked a national debate on environmental problems.

"Under the Dome", which explains air pollution in personal, straight-forward terms, was well-timed: this week China's National People's Congress, the country's parliament, holds its annual meeting.

China's environment minister, Chen Jining, drew parallels between Chai's film and "Silent Spring", the ground-breaking book by American journalist Rachel Carson.

"This is a remarkable milestone," Li Yan, Beijing-based climate and energy campaign manager for environmental group Greenpeace, said of the film.

Chai was a well-known journalist on state-run television before making the documentary.

Environmental awareness has been increasing in China, especially since air pollution levels in Beijing hit record highs in January 2013, a phenomenon dubbed the "airpocalypse".

The documentary has touched a national nerve.

"The difference is in the delivery," said Peggy Liu, chairwoman of Shanghai-based environmental advocacy group JUCCCE, noting Chai's storytelling abilities.

"It's not that people aren't expressing these messages already."

The film begins with Chai Jing's experience as a pregnant woman and then a mother of a child born with a benign tumor, which had to be removed. It looks at China's pollution, how it affects health, and what can be done about it.

Greenpeace's Li Yan said Chai's documentary and the public debate it has generated could help the environmental ministry garner the resources it needs to implement a new, tougher environmental protection law that raises penalties for polluters.

But obstacles to clearing China's skies are daunting.

The country is heavily reliant on coal and car ownership is growing fast.

State-owned enterprises, which dominate heavy industry, can at times be more powerful than their regulators.

The film might prove a boon to other industries.

Sales of air purifiers at the Blue Air store on 3c.tmall.com, an online home electronics shop owned by Internet giant Alibaba, more than doubled the day after the documentary was released.

Wang Zhen, a public relations executive in Shanghai, said the documentary finally convinced her to buy an air purifier.

"I really need to protect my family, that's the main bottom line," she said.

(Additional reporting by Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Viral China pollution film is brave, personal and powerful
Chai Jing’s documentary Under the Dome is praised by environmentalist Ma Jun for raising public awareness of China’s air pollution crisis
Jennifer Duggan The Guardian 2 Mar 15;

A documentary about China’s shockingly high levels of air pollution that has gone viral within China is being compared to Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.

The self-funded documentary, Under the Dome, by former state television presenter Chai Jing, takes a stark look at China’s air pollution woes by combining personal narrative, striking imagery, on-the-the ground interviews with scientific evidence.

One of China’s most prominent environmentalists, Ma Jun, likened the documentary to An Inconvenient Truth not just in style but in the impact it will likely have. He described the powerful documentary as “one of the most important pieces of public awareness of all time by the Chinese media”.

Standing on a darkened stage in front of an audience, Chai tells how after the birth of her daughter, she suddenly became aware of and “afraid” of the pollution. “I didn’t wear a mask in polluted days before. After holding a new life in my hands, I started to worry about the air quality,” she says. The feeling of fear and worry is one that resonates with any parent living in a polluted Chinese city.


“It is powerful because it is motivated by a personal story and has got the feelings that people can relate to. It also hold to the standards of investigative journalism, it is properly vetted on the scientific and technology side, it is a powerful combination,” said Ma.

With reports of more than 100m views online, the documentary has gone viral. Friends are sharing and discussing it on the popular messaging app Wechat and it is being widely discussed and debated on social media. Today is seemed as if everyone in shops and offices were talking about it.

While air pollution is not a new topic in China, it certainly has never been addressed in such a stark but also accessible way. It answers scientific questions about what is in the smog (14 different carcinogens) and leaves no doubt as to the dangerous health implications it has. A scene from the surgery of a lung cancer patient leaves nothing to the imagination as doctors remove a blackened lymph node despite the patient never having smoked.

Under the Dome doesn’t hold back in its criticism when examining the causes of pollution. Chai is critical of a lack of oversight and calls for government action in regulating polluters. She is critical of state oil companies for not improving petroleum quality that could help to cut pollution from cars.

In a country where criticism is routinely censored, this is brave. But tellingly despite not shying away from harsh criticism, so far widespread online discussion of Under the Dome has been allowed and there appear to have been no efforts to prevent it from being shared and viewed online.

“The very fact that this gets a green light to go ahead to be aired and to allow nearly two days of intense communications, I think it already shows a willingness to face the problem rather than dodge it,” said Ma.

It has been released just days before annual meetings of China’s top political bodies and Ma hopes it leads to “more in depth discussion and more solid actions proposed” on the issue of environment and pollution.

Chai Jing's review: Under the Dome – Investigating China’s Smog 柴静雾霾调查：穹顶之下
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6X2uwlQGQM