Joshua Wickerham

Frontline Club: My optimism about the Chinese environment

On a rainy London night in a room of 150 people interested in China, I found myself the only person–in the audience member or on the panel,with any optimism about China improving its natural environment. The event, “Media Talk: Has western coverage of the China story become stale and cliched?” was hosted by the Frontline Club and featured Rob Gifford (NPR), Duncan Hewitt (former BBC, Newsweek), Catherine Sampson (formerly The Times) and Lifen Zhang (FTChinese.com). It was moderated by Carrie Gracie (BBC).

At about minute 55 in this hour and a half long vidcast, Carrie Gracie asks if there are any people optimistic about the Chinese environment. I raised my hand. The microphone zoomed across the room to me. I don’t present my opinion halfway as articulately as I would have liked, but I think my main points came through, namely that:

• Central government environmental policy is stringent, but enforcement is mixed
• Allowing open media coverage by Western journalists is a soft power means of enforcing Chinese laws that would otherwise go unenforced at the local level
• Environment as sustainable developing is becoming a prerequisite for economic growth because of the socially and economically destabilizing nature of environmental degradation
• Awareness of environmental issues is reaching a critical mass

Watch the video here:

I don’t think top-tier western media coverage of China has become cliched, but much of it has become stale. A bit of fresh air is just what China and the world need right now.