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The Irish Times - Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Clifford Coonan

Pollution is out of control in China right now. Daily readings show it going off the charts, the Chinese newspapers are full of it and people are concerned about what environmental degradation means for their health and that of their children.

The government has not gone into the possible economic impact of pollution, but the very fact that authorities are revealing data at all is a positive sign in itself as for years the default setting has been to block any efforts to cover the real extent of the problem.

Opening up

There have been several signs of a new kind of openness in China about sensitive issues in the past few months since the end of the 18th Communist Party Congress in November, which appointed Xi Jinping as leader. The government appeared to bow to demands by journalists at Southern Weekend newspaper over censorship.

Incoming President Xi, who has already been confirmed head of the Communist Party and the army, and Premier Li Keqiang they are set to be confirmed in March have indicated a willingness to reform to help cope with a rack of financial, industrial and income imbalances that threaten Chinas future.

During last weeks press conference by the National Bureau of Statistics, top official Ma Jiantang announced new official estimates for the Gini coefficient of nationwide household income.

For years critics have complained that China never released a Gini coefficient. It stood at 0.474 in 2012, down from 0.477 in 2011 and from a peak of 0.491 in 2008, Ma told reporters.

While conceding that the Gini was relatively large, the very fact that it is being reported at all is significant.

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Pollution becoming a dirty word in China