• Burmese
Monday, May 12, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
34 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

Pollution Documentary Attracts Huge Interest in China

Christopher Bodeen by Christopher Bodeen
March 2, 2015
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Pollution Documentary Attracts Huge Interest in China

A man exercises in the morning as he faces chimneys emitting smoke behind buildings across the Songhua river in Jilin

2.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

BEIJING — A slick new documentary on China’s environmental woes has racked up more than 28 million online views in two days, underscoring growing concern in the country over the impact of air, water and soil pollution.

Hosted by former state television reporter Chai Jing, “Under the Dome” offers a well-produced look at the cost to the environment of 30 years of breakneck economic development.

Chai discusses the issues before a studio audience while standing in front of a screen showing videos of polluting industries, interviews with affected people and visits by her to sites in China and abroad illustrating the extent of the problem.

RelatedPosts

Breaking the 60-Year Political Cycle in Myanmar

Breaking the 60-Year Political Cycle in Myanmar

May 12, 2025
267
US and China Discuss Trade War ‘De-escalation’

US and China Discuss Trade War ‘De-escalation’

May 10, 2025
402
Myanmar Junta Chief Meets China’s Xi for First Time: State Media

Myanmar Junta Chief Meets China’s Xi for First Time: State Media

May 10, 2025
1.3k

It also faults government regulators for failing to crack down on polluters and permitting the widespread burning of the most polluting types of coal, oil and gasoline.

Chai said she was moved to produce the 104-minute documentary out of concern for the effect of pollution on her infant daughter’s health. Costing about US$160,000 to make, the documentary won praise on Sunday from new Chinese Environment Minister Chen Jining, who said it reflected “growing public concern over environmental protection and threats to human health.”

The documentary was posted online on Saturday. By Monday evening, it had 28.84 million views on popular video site Youku. Better produced than much of the stodgy fare on state television, it falls stylistically somewhere between a TED talk and Al Gore’s 2006 Academy Award-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”

The documentary prompted wide speculation over how much official support Chai received and whether the production was truly independent or just an example of slick, viewer-friendly state publicity.

Years of choking pollution in Beijing and other major cities has fed a groundswell of opposition to growth at any cost, and the slowing economy has allowed the government to take more measures to crack down on heavily polluting factories in the cement, steel and petrochemical industries.

In November, the government pledged to produce 20 percent of the country’s total energy with non-fossil fuels by 2030, doubling its current level, while capping growth in carbon emissions by the same year, if not earlier.

“The environment is a sensitive issue that concerns the interests of all sides,” said Yu Guoming, a journalism professor at Beijing’s Renmin University, commenting on the documentary’s popularity.

“Fighting pollution enjoys broad support from the public and… can also be used as leverage to promote changes to the economic structure in the future,” Yu said.

Your Thoughts …
Christopher Bodeen

Christopher Bodeen

The Associated Press

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
97.9k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
88.4k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
86.9k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
58.8k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
46.6k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.4k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Forest Department Captures Rare White Elephant in Irrawaddy Division

Forest Department Captures Rare White Elephant in Irrawaddy Division

Hong Kong Arrests 38 as Anti-China Protesters Scuffle with Police

Hong Kong Arrests 38 as Anti-China Protesters Scuffle with Police

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Fury Over China’s Support for Myanmar Junta Eclipses Quake Aid Gratitude 

Fury Over China’s Support for Myanmar Junta Eclipses Quake Aid Gratitude 

5 days ago
1.2k
Inside the Myanmar Junta’s Post-Earthquake Theater of Control

Inside the Myanmar Junta’s Post-Earthquake Theater of Control

5 days ago
989

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Chief Meets China’s Xi for First Time: State Media

    Myanmar Junta Chief Meets China’s Xi for First Time: State Media

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • A Troubling Message from China’s Ambassador to Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • KNU Hails Seizure of Myanmar Junta Base on Thai Border

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta ‘Seizes Eight TNLA Positions’

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Breaking the 60-Year Political Cycle in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.