That is the finding of a recent survey funded by the World Health Organization. That Chinese cities suffer from high pollution levels has long been acknowledged, but this latest study drives home the point once again, indicating that Beijing needs to take urgent action to tackle the problem. When Chinese officials are asked to clean up their act, they often cite a variety of familiar reasons.
China is too poor.
It is time to go beyond such rationales. When a country as large as China belches out air pollutants, the impact will be felt not just within its borders but also by its neighbors. Just look at the havoc wreaked in Southeast Asia by the haze, brought about by Indonesia's forest fires. What is particularly disturbing is that the nine Chinese cities cited are all lesser-known ones, with populations far smaller than those of metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai. Denying China what the West has already gone through may not seem fair.