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Pollution is one reason Guangzhou people’s lungs are turning black, warns expert (South China Morning Post)
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- Introspection in China Following Murder of Two-Month-Old Infant (THE WSJ CHINA REAL TIME REPORT BLOG)
Pollution is one reason Guangzhou people’s lungs are turning black, warns expert (South China Morning Post)Thursday, 07 March, 2013 Peony Lui http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1185398/pollution-one-reason-guangzhou-peoples-lungs-are-turning-black-warns In Guangzhou, people’s lungs are turning black as early as their 40s, top Chinese lung expert Zhong Nanshan says. Zhong, a delegate of the National People’s Congress and faculty of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, cited research data to prove that PM2.5 fine air particulates pose the greatest health risks and can lead to lung cancer, according to a report by China Youth Network. “Particulate matter (PM2.5) can be carriers for sulphur dioxide and even viruses. When they enter the lungs they will always stay there,” Zhong said on Wednesday. He stressed that particulates have been proven harmful to human respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, and nervous systems. Zhong said lung cancer cases in Beijing had increased by 60 per cent in the past decade. “This is a very alarming figure,” he said. On combating China’s haze pollution, Zhong believed the most important thing was to change the mindset. “Let’s get this straight - is gross domestic product [GDP} more important - or our people’s health?” He suggested the central government include pollution control in the evaluation of officials' performance. “Achievements used to be measured in GDP. We can start from a few of the most severely polluted cities and include haze reduction as part of the evaluation criteria.” Zhong also said it was technically possible to combat air pollution. “It took the British government 30 years to do so back then. I believe that if we are determined enough, China’s pollution problem can be solved in 10 years.” Zhong distinguished himself as a Sars expert during the outbreak in 2003. He played a leading role in Sars prevention and control in Guangdong Province. He is also a leading anti-smoking campaigner in China. Before the Spring Festival, Zhong sent a letter to the Chinese Academy of Engineering asking it to cancel the academician title issued to Xie Jianping, known in China as “tobacco academician” for his reserch in tar reduction in cigaretees. However, he did not receive any direct official response. He recently protested against a CPPCC National Committee member’s claim that China needs to accelerate the development of a “green” ecological tobacco industry. Zhong dismissed the suggestion, explaining it ignored the dangers of smoking. Zhong’s discussion on PM2.5 got on the radar of most national media, as well as China’s Sina Weibo. The blog post was re-tweeted over 1500 times, and more than 440 netizens joined the discussion on China’s haze pollution. Most applaud Zhong’s honest, open attitude, while expressing concern about the health dangers. One wrote: “These are truly heartfelt words. Please re-tweet to support Professor Zhong and urge the introduction of new environmental protection laws. We must do something to protect our lungs!” Another said: “The tragedy is that we are all aware of pollution, but unable to resist. Good luck to our future health - especially the health of our outdoor workers.” A third asked: “Is there any way to ‘clean out’ our lungs?” A fourth said: “My lungs probably have already turned black. It doesn’t matter - I’m old. But what about my child?” A fifth wrote: “Beautiful China, it’s time to stop the engine and walk slow.” Online Introspection in China Following Murder of Two-Month-Old Infant (THE WSJ CHINA REAL TIME REPORT BLOG)March 8, 2013 http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/03/08/introspection-in-china-following-infant-murder/?mod=WSJBlog Does the land of traditional family values and coddled Little Emperors take the lives of children too lightly? That’s the question ricocheting around the Chinese Internet this week as the country struggles to come to terms with the death of a two-month-old infant police say was killed after being discovered in the back of a stolen car. “It was only because the child was an inconvenience. [The car thief] didn’t feel hostile towards this child’s life, he just disregarded it, like it was some common object. Isn’t this a portrait of the entirety of Chinese society?” wrote one user of Sina Corp.’s Weibo microblogging service in a widely reposted comment. “Induced labor, contaminated milk, collapsing bridges…life here is worth less than a goose feather.” The missing boy’s body was found on Wednesday after 48-year-old Zhou Xijun confessed to police the day before that he had strangled the child and buried the body in the snow, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Mr. Zhou told police that had found the child in the back of an SUV he had stolen on Monday in Changchun, capital of northeast China’s Jilin province, and that he abandoned the car in a nearby city after killing the child. The child’s father, Xu Jialin, said he had parked the vehicle in front of a grocery store he owned and ran in to turn on a stove, leaving his child in the back seat with the engine running, according to Xinhua. He said we he came out minutes later, the car and his son were gone. News of theft spread quickly on social media sites as local police launched a city-wide manhunt. The child’s death has prompted outpourings of grief both online and in Changchun, where thousands gathered for a candlelight vigil on Tuesday night. It has also sparked a fervent debate about whether the murder was an act of individual evil or a reflection of something sinister in Chinese society. Among those arguing the latter on Wednesday was Yuan Yulai, a well-known and outspoken lawyer, who argued that brutal enforcement of family-planning policies had conditioned Chinese people to devalue life. “Please take a look at the bloody banners below,” he wrote on Sina Weibo, attaching photos of a number of crude one-child policy banners and slogans. “All you have to do is think about an outrageous policy that would lead local governments to abort a seven-month-old fetus, and suddenly it becomes clear the inevitability of this case. This society has already forgotten respect for life.” The post was forwarded tens of thousands of times, but not everyone agreed with it. Even some who proclaimed themselves strongly opposed to the way China has enforced its family planning policy questioned the connection. “Personally I am strongly against this kind of thing, but you can’t link it to the Changchun case,” wrote one anonymous microblogger. “There are also many people showing their love for this child and expressing their respect and affection for life. Please let’s not exploit the poor child any more.” The debate seemed poised to continue on Thursday after a series of photos appeared online showing city administrative officers in the southern city of Guangzhou violently arresting a woman in front of her crying two-year-old daughter. The woman in question was an unlicensed peddler who began verbally abusing the administrative officers after asked her to leave the area, according the party-controlled Nanfang Daily. “No matter how evil someone is to you, no matter how strongly the law is on your side, you shouldn’t treat a mother like that in front of her child,” wrote one Sina Weibo user. “This is basic humanity.” Similar rounds of soul-searching have gripped China in the past, most notably in 2011, when a two-year-old girl in the southern city of Foshan was struck by two cars and left lying in the road as more than a dozen pedestrians walked by. The toddler, Yueyue, died a few days later, leaving the country to wonder how so many people could ignore a small child in mortal danger. “The world still hasn’t recovered from the Little Yueyue incident, and then comes this stolen car strangulation,” wrote one distressed microblogger. “ Who’s going to save our souls?” -- Josh Chin, with contributions from Yang Jie Directory: 2013 2013 -> Annual InStructional unit plan 2013 -> The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine 2013 -> #1 a lifesafer of virginia inc 2013 -> Name(s): your name here team or Group #(if applicable): Professor’s name 2013 -> Alcott Local School Council (lcs) Meeting Minutes 2013 -> Table Of Contents introduction 2 2013 -> Supplemental demographic information 2013 -> 【Education&Working Experience】 Download 438.17 Kb. Share with your friends:
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