China’s censors stem green hopes

BEIJING – China’s new environmental minister, Chen Jining, has been described as the nation’s green dream. He’s a scientist who appears to have the political backing to start reversing China’s assaults on its water, air and soil.

But at a news conference Saturday, it became clear the government won’t allow Chen to speak freely on topics it deems sensitive. His handlers made sure that no reporters asked about an anti-pollution documentary that recently went viral on China’s government-filtered Internet, only to be quickly censored.

Environmentalists were disappointed by the week’s quick turn of events, especially since harnessing the energy of citizens will be essential if China is to clean up its environment.

“Censor this or not, one thing is clear: The smog is not going away,” Li Yan, the climate and energy manager for Greenpeace in Beijing, said Saturday. “The public demand (for action) is not going away.”

The documentary, “Under the Dome,” was posted Feb. 28 on China’s equivalent of YouTube and quickly racked up more than 200 million page views. Produced by former state television reporter Chai Jing, “Under the Dome” is a personal examination of how pollution threatens people’s lives, including that of Chai’s young daughter.

Many were stunned that the government allowed the documentary to be seen so widely and praised officially. The day after it was released, Chen said the documentary reflected “growing public concern over environmental protection and threats to human health.” He compared it to Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” the 1962 book on the effect of pesticides on wildlife in the United States that is widely credited with starting the environmental movement.

But by Tuesday, government censors had issued orders for all state-run media to remove links to “Under the Dome” or anything related to it, according to a report in China Digital Times, a website that tracks China’s Internet.

It’s not entirely clear why the government reversed course, but some analysts have speculated it felt threatened by online comments about the documentary. Chai Jing was careful not to heap blame on the government for China’s environmental problems, but online commenters were not so gentle. The online criticism may have been especially embarrassing given that the National People’s Congress, China’s rubber-stamp parliament, began its annual meeting in Beijing on Thursday.

Saturday, Chinese and foreign journalists packed Chen’s news conference, with some wanting to ask him about “Under the Dome.” A moderator called on 12 journalists to ask questions. Nearly all worked for Chinese state media, and none asked about the documentary.

After the news conference, several journalists swarmed Chen to ask him the question, but he deflected all queries.

Chen, 51, started his duties a week ago and is thought to be in a prime position to rise in the administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping. An environmental engineer and product of Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University, he was promoted in 2012 to be president of Tsinghua. Some analysts think he could be a candidate for the government’s Politburo and State Council in the next three years.

Until Saturday, Chen seemed to enjoy mixing it up with the media, unlike his predecessor, Zhou Shengxian. During his eight years as environmental minister, Zhou shunned news conferences and presided over a period when environmental problems mounted. Three-fourths of the nation’s lakes and rivers are now severely polluted, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. According to a report last year, a fifth of the nation’s arable farmland is severely contaminated.