The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. Chinese journalists and bloggers often refer to these as “Directives from the Ministry of Truth.”
State Council Information Office: Websites in all localities are kindly asked to promote the article “When It Comes to Smog, We Cannot Blindly Point Fingers.” (February 25, 2014)
国信办：《面对雾霾 我们不能一味吐槽》一文，请各地各网站优先转发。
Some people are pessimistic, assuming that it is beyond human capacity to control the smog–that it is better to wait for a breeze than to try to do anything. Others are fond of attacking the government, insisting that it is up to the authorities to take care of the smog. Still others shrug off any responsibility, arguing that “factories use so much more electricity than us,” and that “the pollution from private cars is a drop in the ocean…”
Who is ultimately responsible for the smog filling the air? Some say it’s from industrial manufacturing, others say it’s from car exhaust, and still others say it’s from our coal-dependent energy system… Before the results of an authoritative study are released, I’m afraid it’s difficult to resolve this debate. But one thing is certain: the close relationship between smog and the production and lifestyle of modernization. Since each and every one of us enjoys the material benefits of modernization, we should all assume the responsibilities and overcome the difficulties this modernity generates–we all are responsible for controlling the smog. No one is qualified to blindly point a finger.
有人心灰意冷，认为治理雾霾“非人力所能为”，与其“瞎折腾”不如“等风来”；有的冷嘲热讽，热衷于“抨击政府”，一味强调雾霾形成的责任和治理工作都应当由政府承担；有的推诿责任，让他少用点电、少开次车，就辩解“工厂用电比我多得多”、“个人开车造成的那点污染微乎其微”……
雾霾弥漫究竟谁是罪魁祸首？有人说是工业生产，有人说是汽车尾气，也有人说是煤为主的能源结构……在权威的研究结果公布之前，这样的争议恐怕一时难有定论。但有一点可以肯定，这就是雾霾的形成与现代化的生产、生活方式密切相关。既然我们每一个人都享受了现代化带来的“福利”，那么就理当共同承担、共同克服由此产生的问题——每个人都有积极治理的责任，任何人都没有一味“吐槽”的资格。[Source]
The air pollution in northeast China is so severe that its affect on agriculture will resemble nuclear winter, according to a new study from China Agricultural University. A man in Hebei has sued the government for failing to stop the smog. Meanwhile, on ChinaFile, experts discuss how much blame the US may bear for China’s polluted air.
CDT collects these directives from a variety of sources and checks them against official Chinese media reports to confirm their implementation.
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The original publication date on CDT Chinese is noted after the directives; the date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.
