A documentary film highlighting China’s severe pollution problems has been taken down by that nation’s propaganda agencies.
Titled “Under the Dome,” the film by a former journalist for CCTV — China’s state-run news agency — was pulled from websites after it had been viewed more than 200 million times.
The journalist, Chai Jing, said she didn’t pay attention to China’s pollution problem until her daughter was born with a benign tumor. She began investigating how pollution had led to the tumor, how bad China’s pollution problem really was and what could be done to combat it, USA Today reported Saturday.
China’s new environment minister is reported to have personally called Ms. Chai to thank her for her work.
The premier of China, Li Keqiang, called pollution a “blight” on the country and vowed to fight it “with all our might.” His comments came just two days before Ms. Chai’s documentary was pulled.
The government has so far offered no explanation as to why the documentary was taken down.
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Some Chinese citizens took to the internet to vent their frustration.
“Some people have the power to completely smother Chai Jing’s ’Under the Dome’ on the internet but don’t have the power to smother haze in this country,” wrote one user, quoted by Reuters.
The film is still available on YouTube with English subtitles.
• Phillip Swarts can be reached at pswarts@washingtontimes.com.
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