Guest Captain Compassion Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Beijing censored pollution report By Richard McGregorin Beijing Published: July 3 2007 03:00 | Last updated: July 3 2007 03:00 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/563054fc-28fe-11dc-af78-000b5df10621.html Beijing engineered the removal of nearly a third of a World Bank report on pollution in China because of concerns that its findings on premature deaths could provoke "social unrest". The report, produced in co-operation with Chinese government ministries over several years, found about 750,000 people die prematurely in China each year, mainly from air pollution in large cities. China's State Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) and health ministry asked the World Bank to cut the calculations of premature deaths from the report when a draft was finished last year, according to bank advisers and Chineseofficials. "The World Bank was told that it could not publish this information. It was too sensitive and could cause social unrest," one adviser to the study told the Financial Times. Sixteen of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in China, according to previous World Bank research. Guo Xiaomin, a retired Sepa official who co-ordinated the Chinese research team, said some material was omitted from the pollution report because of concerns that the methodology was unreliable. But he also said such information on premature deaths "could cause misunderstanding". "We did not announce these figures. We did not want to make this report too thick," he said in an interview. The pared-down report, "Cost of Pollution in China", has yet to be officially launched but a version, which can be downloaded from the internet, was released at a conference in Beijing in March. Missing from this report are the research project's findings that high air pollution levels in Chinese cities are leading to the premature deaths of 350,000-400,000 people each year. A further 300,000 people die prematurely each year from exposure to poor air indoors, according to advisers, but little discussion of this issue survived in the report because it was outside the ambit of the Chinese ministries which sponsored the research. Another 60,000-odd premature deaths were attributable to poor-quality water, largely in the countryside, resulting in severe diarrhoea and stomach, liver and bladder cancers. The mortality information was "reluctantly" excised by the World Bank from the published report, according to advisers to the research project. The bank said the findings of the report were still being discussed with the government. A spokesperson said: "The conference version of the report did not include some of the issues still under discussion." She said the findings of the report were due to be released as a series of papers soon. -- There may come a time when the CO2 police will wander the earth telling the poor and the dispossed how many dung chips they can put on their cook fires. -- Captain Compassion. Wherever I go it will be well with me, for it was well with me here, not on account of the place, but of my judgments which I shall carry away with me, for no one can deprive me of these; on the contrary, they alone are my property, and cannot be taken away, and to possess them suffices me wherever I am or whatever I do. -- EPICTETUS Celibacy in healthy human beings is a form of insanity. -- Captain Compassion "Civilization is the interval between Ice Ages." -- Will Durant. Joseph R. Darancette daranc@NOSPAMcharter.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Roger Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 "about 750,000 people die prematurely in China each year, mainly from air pollution in large cities." "Captain Compassion" <daranc@NOSPAMcharter.net> wrote in message news:ebdl83hrhhvu5jkjsv395jp1cio5e1skss@4ax.com... > Beijing censored pollution report > By Richard McGregorin Beijing > Published: July 3 2007 03:00 | Last updated: July 3 2007 03:00 > http://www.ft.com/cms/s/563054fc-28fe-11dc-af78-000b5df10621.html > > Beijing engineered the removal of nearly a third of a World Bank > report on pollution in China because of concerns that its findings on > premature deaths could provoke "social unrest". > > The report, produced in co-operation with Chinese government > ministries over several years, found about 750,000 people die > prematurely in China each year, mainly from air pollution in large > cities. > > China's State Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) and health ministry > asked the World Bank to cut the calculations of premature deaths from > the report when a draft was finished last year, according to bank > advisers and Chineseofficials. > > "The World Bank was told that it could not publish this information. > It was too sensitive and could cause social unrest," one adviser to > the study told the Financial Times. > > Sixteen of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in China, according > to previous World Bank research. > > Guo Xiaomin, a retired Sepa official who co-ordinated the Chinese > research team, said some material was omitted from the pollution > report because of concerns that the methodology was unreliable. But he > also said such information on premature deaths "could cause > misunderstanding". > > "We did not announce these figures. We did not want to make this > report too thick," he said in an interview. > > The pared-down report, "Cost of Pollution in China", has yet to be > officially launched but a version, which can be downloaded from the > internet, was released at a conference in Beijing in March. > > Missing from this report are the research project's findings that high > air pollution levels in Chinese cities are leading to the premature > deaths of 350,000-400,000 people each year. A further 300,000 people > die prematurely each year from exposure to poor air indoors, according > to advisers, but little discussion of this issue survived in the > report because it was outside the ambit of the Chinese ministries > which sponsored the research. > > Another 60,000-odd premature deaths were attributable to poor-quality > water, largely in the countryside, resulting in severe diarrhoea and > stomach, liver and bladder cancers. > > The mortality information was "reluctantly" excised by the World Bank > from the published report, according to advisers to the research > project. > > The bank said the findings of the report were still being discussed > with the government. A spokesperson said: "The conference version of > the report did not include some of the issues still under discussion." > She said the findings of the report were due to be released as a > series of papers soon. > > > -- > There may come a time when the CO2 police will wander the earth telling > the poor and the dispossed how many dung chips they can put on their > cook fires. -- Captain Compassion. > > Wherever I go it will be well with me, for it was well with me here, not > on account of the place, but of my judgments which I shall carry away > with me, for no one can deprive me of these; on the contrary, they alone > are my property, and cannot be taken away, and to possess them suffices > me wherever I am or whatever I do. -- EPICTETUS > > Celibacy in healthy human beings is a form of > insanity. -- Captain Compassion > > "Civilization is the interval between Ice Ages." -- Will Durant. > > Joseph R. Darancette > daranc@NOSPAMcharter.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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