中国网络疯转:一部来自柴静的环境纪录片

On Saturday, Chai Jing, a former television journalist from China, released a feature-length documentary film that, unusually for China, took the government to task. Titled Under the Dome, the video featured Chai giving a presentation on stage, using both photographs and slides to examine how China's notorious air pollution got so extreme—and why the Communist Party has failed to fix it. Jing's interest was personal: Her daughter underwent surgery soon after her birth to remove a tumor that, Chai claims, was caused by pollution.

周六，前电视记者柴静发布了一部长纪录片，片子问责政府，这在中国是很不寻常的。纪录片标题穹顶之下，视频中柴静在台上发表演讲，用照片和幻灯片来展现中国的空气污染到了极端程度——以及为什么中国政府没有能够有效治理。柴静与空气污染是私人恩怨：她的女儿刚出生就做了摘除肿瘤的手术，柴静称，肿瘤是污染引起的。

Under ordinary circumstances, the Chinese government might have swiftly removed the video from Youku, China's YouTube, before it could gain much traction. But the film has been left untouched, amassing tens of millions of views and touching off a spirited discussion online. Under the Dome, which is embedded below, has even received praise from senior government officials.

在通常情况下，中国政府会在视频引起广泛注意之前就迅速把视频删掉。但是这部片子保存了下来，吸引了千万人观看并引发了网上的激烈讨论。穹顶之下得到了政府高层的赞誉。

"Chai Jing's documentary calls for public environmental consciousness from the standpoint of public health," Chen Jining, China's environment czar, said. "It deserves admiration." This isn't how the Communist Party normally reacts to videos that criticize its governance.

“柴静的纪录片从公共健康的角度，唤起公众的环境意识，”中国环保部长陈吉宁说，“值得钦佩。”这不是中共政府对于批评党政的视频的一般态度。

The government's reaction to Under the Dome is particularly noteworthy given that under President Xi Jinping, who took office in 2013, government suppression of the media has intensified. In addition to maintaining long-held bans on Facebook, Twitter, and other foreign websites, Beijing has cracked down on any private networks that provided a workaround to the Great Firewall. And in something of a throwback to the Maoist era, the Communist Party has even promoted a song praising Internet censorship on state-run television.

自2013年习大大执掌政权以来，政府对媒体的管制是强化了的，因此，政府对于《穹顶之下》的反应尤其值得注意。中国政府一直禁止脸书和推特，以及其他一些国外网站，对翻墙软件也打压殆尽。在央视电视台上，甚至还有一首歌赞美互联网监管，仿佛一瞬间回到了毛时代。

Why did Under the Dome get a pass? One reason is tone. Chai, an experienced television anchor, framed her story as a critical investigation rather than a call to action. In China, this distinction is crucial. A much-cited Harvard study found that while the Communist Party tolerates some dissent, the government works hard to stifle overt provocations. Then there's the subject matter: Environmental problems transcend social, linguistic, and economic barriers in China, and air pollution is much harder to conceal than government malfeasance.

为什么穹顶之下能被放行？一个原因是基调。柴静是个老练的电视记者，她把片子拍成一个批判性的调查而不是一个行动的呼吁。在中国，这一分别是非常关键的。一份被广泛引用的哈佛研究显示，中国政府可以容忍某些异见，但是极力打压公然的挑衅。另一个原因是片子主题：在中国，环境问题跨越了社会、语言和经济的隔阂，空气污染比政府渎职更难掩盖。

In this spirit of semi-forced transparency, Beijing has acknowledged that it isn't close to solving its environmental problems. Last month, a top government official said that China had to cut emissions by as much as 50 percent in order to make any noticeable progress toward cleaner air. Achieving this while maintaining economic growth won't be easy—but when dealing with a problem so palpable, the Chinese Communist Party has no other choice.

在这种半被迫的透明化情况下，中国政府知道解决中国的环境问题道路漫漫。上个月，一名政府高官说，中国必须减排50%，方能在清洁空气上取得一些看得见的成绩。既要环保，又要保持经济发展的速度不是容易的事情——但是问题显而易见，中国政府别无他选。