Without any previous notice, a documentary dominated headlines and social websites over the weekend.
Under the Dome, a 103-minute documentary self-funded by former news anchor Chai Jing, was released on video-sharing websites in China on Feb 28. It has rapidly pushed the public awareness about air pollution and encouraged people to join in efforts to make a difference.
Chai, 39, said she started the work out of her “personal clashes” with smog after she gave birth to a daughter. “I sealed tight all the windows. I started every day by checking the air pollution index,” Chai said. Millions of other people are also doing the same. While they stop there, Chai goes deeper. “I don’t want to live in this way. I need to find out where the smog comes from and what on earth is going on.”
Over a year, she investigated polluted sites to find the sources of smog, visited the US and the UK to learn about their anti-pollution experiences, and interviewed officials, scientists and the general public.
Chai’s research reveals that the burning of coal and oil contributes to 60 percent of PM2.5 pollutants. She thus questions the country’s energy consumption habits in the film.
She then goes on to disclose loopholes in car emissions regulations. Some of the laws have been in place for years, but have never been applied. The film also explains that businesses are pressured not to abide by the laws because violating them carries little or no cost, while making changes bumps up costs. The film also points at China’s petroleum and steel industries as the biggest sources of air pollution.
Chai goes on to list the things ordinary people can do to help and sums everything up by calling for individual responsibility in reporting illegal emissions via the hotline 12369.
The film has provoked national discussion after going viral online. Gruesome pictures of withered trees, murky skies, and babies under treatment have moved viewers. But most importantly, the film looks at solutions that the government and individuals can carry out to help.
Cheng Chen, a 22-year-old student from Beijing Foreign Studies University, found the documentary “very inspiring”.
“I used to think it’s not my duty to deal with air pollution–I don’t own a factory or a car,” said Cheng. “But Chai told me we share the same fate since we breathe the same air and there is a lot I can do.”
However, some people are annoyed by the film’s depiction of their polluted hometowns, especially when it shows a banner from Xingtai in Hebei saying “Congratulations to our city for no longer being ranked the last place among the country’s 74 cities in terms of air quality”.
Such a feeling of “being insulted”, in Cheng’s eyes, could also be a good thing.
“What’s important is that Chai’s work has raised public attention toward the structure of the energy industry,” she said.
Chen Jining, newly appointed minister of environmental protection, said he had contacted Chai to express his appreciation. “Protecting the environment is never a ‘personal affair’ of environmental authorities. We welcome everybody’s contribution,” Chen told the press on March 1.
Meanwhile, experts remind moved viewers of the film’s limitations.
