Chai Jing's smog documentary 'Under theDome' goes viral with over 150 million views

柴静的“穹顶之下”，点击率超过一亿五千万！

 http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/katienelson/under-the-dome.jpgthe Dome —— 穹顶之下" />

前言： 克里斯托夫金博士

柴静只是一个记者，却做了、甚至超越了无数专家学者都很难做到的本职工作，她开阔了国人的视野，警醒了雾霾的危害，引起了世界的关注，连中石油技术高层的万战翔在强烈反驳她的同时也不忘充分肯定《穹顶之下》——“七对三错”。

五毛们还不满足，还在天天以莫须有的罪名百般构陷她，恶毒攻击她，真是滑天下之大稽。多么愚蠢的国人，分不清是非，讲不明道理，只会嫉妒和无端仇恨。

难道你们要求柴静——她，不仅应该是中国最优秀的媒体记者，还必须是中国第一流的环保、雾霾、癌症、能源等无数领域的专家？

A film about airpollution by one of China's most famous TV journalists has gone viral onChinese social media, where it has received over 153 million views and stirredup huge conversation and conflicting views.

Former CCTVanchor Chai Jing became a household name for her investigative stories aboutChina's SARS outbreak, pollution and the country's gay community. She resignedfrom her role in state media after giving birth last year, and spent her timeinstead producing this 103-minute film, which was financed with over 1 millionyuan of her own money.

Chai weavesstory-telling and statistics with a keynote speech that she delivered thisJanuary in a Beijing film studio to create Under the Dome, which debutedon the People's Daily website and has received praise from the highest-reachinglevels of the Chinese government.

In the film, the39-year-old journalist from smog-ridden Shanxi province explains that herattitude towards China's noxious haze changed after the birth of her daughter,who was diagnosed with a benign tumor as a newborn (although she never directlylinks this to China's air pollution).

“Half of thedays in 2014, I had to confine my daughter to my home like a prisoner becausethe air quality in Beijing was so poor,” Chai said. “One morning I saw mydaughter banging on the window…. The day will come when she asks me, ‘Why doyou keep me here? What is going to hurt me when I go outside?’”

Beijing had 174polluted days last year, while neighboring Tianjin and Shijiazhuang(a potential venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics) saw 197 and 264 polluteddays respectively.

The burning ofcoal and oil contributes to 60 percent of PM2.5 pollutions, Chai claims infilm, where she also discloses loopholes in car emission regulations that havefurther contributed to the chronic pollution.

ForeignPolicy elaborates:

In a rare move for Chinese journalists,Chai also criticized China’s two most powerful state-owned oil companies forresisting tougher fuel standards. Chai played a recording of an anonymousofficial from the powerful National Development and Reform Commission whosaid that Sinopec and CNPC, respectively the third and fourth companies onthe Fortune 500 list, had threatened to cut off supply when state environmentalauthorities sought to raise fuel standards, which would also have raised fuelprices. “Shouldn’t Sinopec, a giant state-owned enterprise with more than $400billion in revenue last year, take some social responsibility?” Chai asked.

Chai’s talk also detailed visits Los Angeles and London, two cities with somesuccess combating air pollution. To her surprise, she discovered that Chinaalready possesses clean technology, and similar regulations, at least onpaper. Chai said the problem was that Chinese regulators either lacked thepower they needed or were lax in their enforcement. Other causes of airpollution include excess heavy industry production and an obsession withbuilding the next “metropolitan city,” a phrase often used by local officialsin their vows.

Chai urged more grassroots action, likecalling China’s national environmental protection hotline in the event ofviolations and using public transportation whenever possible. At the end of herspeech, Chai turned around to face the screen behind her that showed a rotatingEarth. “One day, I will leave this world. But my child will still live here,”she said. The in-studio audience was visibly engaged, and some appeared to havetears in their eyes. 

Chai's effortshave received recognition from state media as well as Chen Jining, the newlyappointed minister of environmental protection, who personally thanked thejournalist for the research she put into the video. Criticism has likewise beenpouring in from web users, some of whom accused Chai of reflecting viewpointsheld by the urban class without delving into issues faced by working-classChinese, whose livelihoods rely on the polluting industries. Others called Chaia hypocrite for 'pretending' to care about China's problems after givingbirth in the US, and rumors surfaced that Chai herself is a regularsmoker.

According tothe Wall Street Journal, China's propaganda committee had on Mondayordered a directive to media outlets to cease further reporting on thedocumentary, although it is still available for viewing in China and continuesto soar in popularity.

The film, whichhas been likened to the 2006 documentary AnInconvenient Truth, made its debutjust ahead of the annual parliamentary sessions of China, or the "twosessions", and air pollution has topped the issues ofconcern that residents hope to see covered.

Contactthe author ofthis article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with furtherquestions, comments or tips.

By KatieNelson in News on Mar 3, 2015 11:59 PM