Black sludge rained down on Chengdu, Sichuan on Friday. The sludge storm was caused by effluvia from the nearby Jialing Power Plant, which burnt a batch of substandard coal.
The incident has been covered in the state-owned press, in both English and Chinese. Xinhua’s English website republished a China Daily story about the black rain, and illustrated it with photos credited to search engine Baidu, which probably means they were found using a Baidu search, and could come from just about anywhere. The photo reproduced here is from the Xinhua web page.
Meanwhile, an opinion piece in the China Daily asks: Does democracy exist in China?
The article talks about the government’s recent release of a white paper about democracy, arguing that the document is worth reading:
The reading process may be a little tedious considering the prevalence of unfamiliar political jargon. But ample rewards are guaranteed – you will find out what democracy means in terms of official Chinese political ideology, and how democracy – the Chinese brand – is practised.
Hmm, The Chinese Brand of Democracy. The reading process may be a little tedious.
I think I prefer Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, but then as Jiang Zemin was fond of saying, one must move with the times (与时俱进).
- Xinhua: “Black rain” hits Chengdu, the text of which was taken from the China Daily Polluting ‘black rain’ hits Chengdu
- Sichuan News Net (Chinese): Black rain sullied the Hibiscus City [Chengdu], the polluting work unit shall face consequences
- China Daily: Does democracy exist in China?
- Xinhua: China issues 1st white paper on democracy
- Xinhua: White paper: Building of Political Democracy in China (Full text)