China’s state media under fire for arguing the benefits of smog
People wander at The Bund on December 5, 2013 in Shanghai, China. Heavy smog continued to hit northern and eastern parts of China on Thursday, disturbing the traffic, worsening air pollution and forcing the closure of schools.
You can't make this up, really.
Two Chinese state media outlets are under fire for releasing lists of the "surprising benefits" of the smog that's been choking the country in recent months.
That's right. Benefits.
Sure, it might burn your lungs and destroy the environment, but smog can also make you smarter and funnier, according to one list published Sunday by state broadcaster CCTV.
Here are other benefits of toxic air, according to the report:
1. It unifies the Chinese people.
2. It makes China more equal.
3. It raises citizen awareness of the cost of China’s economic development.
4. It makes people funnier.
5. It makes people more knowledgeable.
Oh, but that's not all.
The Global Times, which is published by the Communist Party's official People's Daily, also said smog may help the Chinese military by obscuring sight lines, reducing the effectiveness of surveillance and weapons systems.
Chinese newspapers quickly denounced the reports in an unusual case of state media criticizing other state media.
"Is the smog supposed to lift if we laugh about it?" wrote the Beijing Business Today, published by the city government's official Beijing Daily. "Smog affects our breathing. We hope it does not affect our thinking."
The Dongguan Times, from a heavily industrial city close to the border with Hong Kong, said CCTV's comments were so bizarre people did not know "whether to laugh or cry."
“It is a public tragedy that half of China is engulfed in smog," wrote one Weibo user. “We should not entertain ourselves by this tragedy.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.