Bizarre China Report: Five Benefits Of A Smoggy China, Sewer Home And More
Masked Models and the Benefits of a Smoggy China
Northeast China was struck by the most severe smog attack this past week, sending air quality index in more than 40 cities above the 300 hazardous level and forcing schools in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province to shut down. But instead of halting their outdoor modeling show, organizers of a jewelry exhibition in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province had all the models wear face masks on the runway. There you see the young ladies demonstrating their elegant catwalk in flowy long dresses and lavish sets of gold accessories, their fine-skinned faces covered in cheap micro-fiber masks that one typically finds at hospitals— a tint of mystery perhaps? For pictures, see here.
That may as well become the norm, as an expert from China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection just claimed that the smog is there to stay for ten to twenty years. Amid the gloomy outlook, however, there’s some silver-lining—CCTV, China’s national broadcaster, has identified five benefits of the smog: first, it has made people more united, because smog is a common enemy everywhere in China. Second, it has made people more equal, because both the rich and the poor have to inhale the same polluted air. Third, it has made the Chinese more clear-headed as to the price that the nation has to pay for becoming the “world’s factory.” Fourth, it has made the Chinese more humorous. Sarcasm abounds when it comes to the topic of smog, and “that sense of humor is the source of strength for defeating the smog.” Fifth, it has made the Chinese more knowledgeable, as people become educated on concepts like PM 2.5, important historical events like the London Great Smog of 1952, and even English words like “haze” and “smog.”
The Party’s mouth piece, The Global Times, has suggested that smog may be also beneficiary to military defense: “If smog has enveloped the target, [a cruise missile battle] may fail as it cannot discover or identify the target. Of course, this is a good thing for the defense side. During the Kosovo war, the Yugoslav army tried to avoid NATO bombing by artificially creating smog through burning scrap tires.” This opinion piece appears to have disappeared from Global Times’ website, but continues to go viral online.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/hengshao/2013/12/09/bizarre-china-report-ii/
Masked Models and the Benefits of a Smoggy China
Northeast China was struck by the most severe smog attack this past week, sending air quality index in more than 40 cities above the 300 hazardous level and forcing schools in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province to shut down. But instead of halting their outdoor modeling show, organizers of a jewelry exhibition in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province had all the models wear face masks on the runway. There you see the young ladies demonstrating their elegant catwalk in flowy long dresses and lavish sets of gold accessories, their fine-skinned faces covered in cheap micro-fiber masks that one typically finds at hospitals— a tint of mystery perhaps? For pictures, see here.
That may as well become the norm, as an expert from China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection just claimed that the smog is there to stay for ten to twenty years. Amid the gloomy outlook, however, there’s some silver-lining—CCTV, China’s national broadcaster, has identified five benefits of the smog: first, it has made people more united, because smog is a common enemy everywhere in China. Second, it has made people more equal, because both the rich and the poor have to inhale the same polluted air. Third, it has made the Chinese more clear-headed as to the price that the nation has to pay for becoming the “world’s factory.” Fourth, it has made the Chinese more humorous. Sarcasm abounds when it comes to the topic of smog, and “that sense of humor is the source of strength for defeating the smog.” Fifth, it has made the Chinese more knowledgeable, as people become educated on concepts like PM 2.5, important historical events like the London Great Smog of 1952, and even English words like “haze” and “smog.”
The Party’s mouth piece, The Global Times, has suggested that smog may be also beneficiary to military defense: “If smog has enveloped the target, [a cruise missile battle] may fail as it cannot discover or identify the target. Of course, this is a good thing for the defense side. During the Kosovo war, the Yugoslav army tried to avoid NATO bombing by artificially creating smog through burning scrap tires.” This opinion piece appears to have disappeared from Global Times’ website, but continues to go viral online.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/hengshao/2013/12/09/bizarre-china-report-ii/