"China is talking about its pollution problem, but its equally serious class problem remains obscured behind the haze. Smog leapt to the forefront of Chinese national discourse after the Feb. 28 release of Under the Dome [which] explained the root causes of air pollution that has ravaged so much of China in the past few years. But there's a sharp class angle to the pollution question that Chai's documentary did not engage. While smog is the most visible problem afflicting the middle class in mega-cities like Beijing and Shanghai, China's other half - the rural and poor population - often suffer a nasty pollution paradox: They face health risks from their air and water, but also depend on polluting industries for their livelihoods", an opinion article from Foreign Policy explains.

The New York Times writes, "A British parliamentary committee has warned that Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy is at risk and called on London to take a stronger stand on behalf of democratic change in its former colony. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the British House of Commons opened an inquiry into Hong Kong last July, three decades after Britain signed a Joint Declaration with China that promised the city - under the principle of 'one country, two systems' - considerable autonomy and civil liberties for 50 years after its return to Chinese rule in 1997. The report released on Friday said that Britain, as a signatory of the 1984 agreement, has a 'legal right' and a 'moral responsibility' to monitor political developments in Hong Kong. The committee also said that Britain 'can and should take an unambiguous position on its expectations for constitutional reform,' a position Beijing has rejected as interference in China's internal affairs. In November, the Chinese government barred members of the committee from traveling to Hong Kong."

"An industrial city in eastern China has closed several factories, including many steel and nickel pig iron producers, in an apparent sign the government is stepping up enforcement of a new environmental law in the face of growing public discontent over pollution. Premier Li Keqiang told the annual session of the National People's Congress, or parliament, on Thursday his government would do everything it could to fight pollution. China's vast and energy-intensive steel sector is at the heart of the government's war on pollution, but it also encapsulates the challenges of curbing smog without denting the economy. Complying with stricter standards would have knock-on effects throughout industry and raise costs for steel producers who are already feeling the pinch of tepid demand," Reuters reports.