Lauding Beijing’s pandemic response reveals journalistic naivety and stunning lack of due diligence.
A stopped Beijing

New images from inside Beijing’s travel arteries show a stopped Beijing as the battle to contain the coronavirus outbreak brings one of the world’s most populous cities to an eerie halt.
Beijing’s new water polluter – the suburbs
(July 4, 2013) A new study reveals that sewage treatment facilities in Beijing’s suburbs are below standard and poorly regulated. The absence of tough water protection laws and enforcement is turning Beijing’s townships into regional sources of pollution in a city already overburdened by threats to water safety.
Weibo Watch: Issue 6

This week, netizens take on polluting phone manufacturers, document Beijing’s traffic troubles, successfully shut down a hunting festival and investigate sales of mysterious “grey swan” meat for the Mid-Autumn Day Festival.
Water shortage in Chinese cities – what the public thinks
(September 5, 2011) City-dwellers in China say they have an urban water crisis with shortages and pollution posing the gravest threats, a new survey reveals.
Water woes to dry out bathhouses
(May 5, 2011) Beijing water authorities have revealed a plan to keep the capital’s wells running until 2014. Meanwhile they will cease offering approval for the development of luxurious bathhouses in order to tackle Beijing’s worsening water supply shortage.
Bankers join environmentalists in alarm over Beijing’s water crisis
(May 5, 2011) Beijing’s water shortage is one of the main factors thwarting the region’s sustainable economic growth, say bankers who have joined environmentalists in sounding the alarm over the city’s “chronic water deficit.”
Beijing officials fiddle in face of crisis
(March 28, 2011) Rather than implement the hard-hitting measures needed to turn Beijing’s water shortage around, officials defy logic with a soft approach.
Beijing’s massive water diversion project could trigger earthquakes: experts
(March 28, 2011) A new study warns that plans to raise the Danjiangkou Dam could lead to earthquakes of greater than 4.0 on the Richter Scale. Experts say the dam triggered an earthquake of M 4.7 in 1973.
Tremors in China’s road to recovery
(June 11, 2008) While earthquake damage sustained by the country’s dams may pose serious threats, many are turning to the dams themselves for explanations. Probe International Fellow Dai Qing says: “We must look carefully at the questions: How do dams impact earthquakes? How do earthquakes impact dams?”