A Chinese documentary critical of the country's dense smog has made waves online, but could augur positive economic benefits.
The absence of negative ramifications for Under the Dome's producer, Chai Jing, has been widely interpreted as a sign of greater official tolerance for discussion of China's devastating pollution problems. Government censors have permitted the 104-minute film to stream on major internet portals while Chen Jining, environmental protection minister, said on Sunday he had texted Ms Chai to thank her for a film "worthy of admiration". Indeed, it is being compared to Rachel Carson's seminal work 'Silent Spring,' widely regarded as educating a generation of Americans in the 1960s about the importance of protecting the natural environment.
But Zhiwei Zhang, chief China economist at Deutsche Bank, argues that the video could also have macro implications, both in terms of environmental regulation and protection as well as the media sector: “It was reported by Xinhua that the Minister of Environment Protection personally texted Chai Jing to thank her for the effort. This suggests to us that the government will likely take environmental protection more seriously, rebalancing the economy from merely concentrating on an investment-intensive model.