Beijing clouds the pollution picture

By Richard McGregor in Beijing

Financial Times

The World Bank conjured a daring finale to a conference it co-hosted in Beijing in March on pollution, staging a Chinese adaptation of a Henrik Ibsen play about a doctor trying to alert citizens to an environmental problem.

The doctor’s battle in An Enemy of the People to reveal the truth has striking parallels with efforts by reformers in China to force the authorities to be more open about the damage to the environment resulting from the pursuit of high-speed growth. More...