1:52PM
Hero now discovered in China's "Erin Brockovich"
Wednesday, July 19, 2006 at 1:52PM ARTICLE: "In Booming China, A Doctor Battles A Polluting Factory: Fouled Rivers and Lakes Spark Flood of Protests; Officials' Mixed Messages; Inspired by Erin Brockovich," by Shai Oster and Mei Fong, Wall Street Journal, 19 July 2006, p. A1.
In my conclusion to Blueprint for Action, I provide character sketches of a host of "heroes yet discovered."
One of those listed for China is a Chinese "Erin Brockovich."
Looks like he showed up right on schedule!
Great piece by Oster and Fong, both of whom are great.
Pluralism is beginning politically in China, from the bottom up, and environmentalism is the spark, as I also noted in BFA.
Reader Comments (1)
China is not lacking in Erin Brockovichs. People often call China a totalitarian state, but I see it as otherwise. I am going to avoid getting into a discussion of the differences between totalitarianism and authoritarianism because I do not purport to really know, but it is important to realize that China is no North Korea. China does not have a free press, but access to nearly all information is relatively easy. Some sites on the internet are blocked, but many are not and it is also fairly easy to see those that are.
Some dissent is allowed. Indeed, on those issues that weaken the power of the local party hacks, I am of the view that Beijing WANTS dissent. Beijing uses the dissenters to try to reduce the power of the local officials.
Beijing recognizes the huge environmental problems it faces and it also knows that those problems are generally not good for Beijing. The problem is that though Beijing may approve of many of the Erin Brockovichs, the local officials usually do not, particularly since it is their own power and wealth that is threatened.
In analyzing environmental protest in China, one must always be cognizant of the fact that though there is nominally only one government in China, there are usually multiple governmental forces at play.