Chinese Workers Paint Mountain Green

[kurth]

Chinese Workers Paint Mountain Green
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: February 14, 2007
Filed at 7:42 p.m. ET

SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- Villagers in southwestern China are scratching their heads over the county government's decision to paint an entire barren mountainside green. Workers who began spraying Laoshou mountain last August told villagers they were doing so on orders of the county government but were not told why, media reports said Wednesday.

Some villagers guessed officials of the surrounding Fumin county, whose office building faces the mountain, were trying to change the area's feng shui -- the ancient Chinese belief of harmonizing one's physical environment for maximum health and financial benefit. Others speculated it was an unusual attempt at ''greening'' the area in keeping with calls for more attention to environmental protection. Photographs of the mountain showed the exposed rock covered in an artificial green the color of Astroturf looming over houses against a scrubby background.

The official Xinhua News Agency estimated the cost of the paint job at 470,000 yuan ($60,600) and quoted villagers saying that if spent on actual plants and trees, the money could have restored a far greater area of barren mountain. Laoshou mountain was quarried for more than two decades but ordered shut recently following complaints about dust and noise from villagers. Officials have also been trying to stem environmental damage in the surrounding Yunnan province where logging and development of mountain areas have been blamed for heavy floods down river.

A women who answered the phone at the Fumin county forestry department said they were also unaware of reasons behind the paint job. ''This is an order from above. You should ask the leader from above. I don't have any information on this,'' said the woman, who like many Chinese bureaucrats, refused to give her name.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-China-Painted-Mountain.html

[don954]

1. jeez, that brings new meaning to the term "green washing"!

[BuyingThyme]

2. Anybody find a photo?

[kurth]

3. Great paint job:

[BuyingThyme]

4. Hey, that looks like the stuff they spray to stop erosion.

Where's the pic from?

[BuyingThyme]

7. ::

[otherlander]

10. What the hell are they doing?

How the hell did we ever let it get this far? *shakes head*

[kurth]

8. It's

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070214.wchinamount0214/BNStory/International/home

[Rainscents]

5. OMG...

That looks terrible!!!

[momster]

6. Right out of Alice

Painting the Roses Red...painting the mountain green.

[Old and In the Way]

9. You see lots of 1/2 mountains in So. China.

They turn them into buildings...

[Selatius]

11. Paint the damn hill green. The government demands you paint it green.

Go paint the mountain green now!

[Riverman]

12. If the Chinese are such ardent practicers of Fung Shui, then why

Have they created the most polluted environment in the history of humanity and by their actions threaten life for all entities on this planet? Fung Shui is BS! And so is the Chinese government, state run capitalism, rampant cronyism and corrruption, an enslavement of millions producing crap for the west to consume. I can't think of a more horrendous society, short of facist Europe, Stalinism, and other brutal dictatorship run nations. Unless checked by western, african, south american and some asian powers, China's ugly culture, economy and military will dominate the planet for the next four hundred years, with unimaginable war making and horrors for humanity. The intelligence forces of those nations would be more useful spending their energies on disrupting the Chinese elites, by fomenting widespread discontent among the urban and rural populations, pitting ethic groups and regions against each other. Just as the Soviet Union - the model of state run capitalism, collapsed by its own weight with some help from the outside - not the least of which being the proliferation of PC's and the rapid spread of liberating ideas, so must the internet be the primary tool for the breakup of China. No wonder they want to surpress it's use and shame on Google and Yahoo for helping them! My rant for today, now I feel better, sort of!

[parkia00]

13. On behalf of all Chinese people, I apologize.

I'm profoundly sorry that Chinese society and it's people disgust you so. I also must apologize for our ugly culture which although is ancient, is no excuse to be ugly and to irritate you sensitivities. I had not realised that our beliefs are bullshit. Maybe a stop order for believing in our stupid religion and customs should be implemented. Maybe you can give us an idea of something better that yo approve of? I bow down humbly before a superior and admit that our cheap products are exported all over the world including your country. Perhaps it would make you feel better if you call someone to pull out all Chinese manufactured parts found on your computer. Since profits were received for the sale of our cheap goods, it is unfair that we keep it for ourselves to better our lives, cities and infrastructure. Maybe it should be returned and Chinese people revert back to migrant workers like during the 19th century and work for the westerners?

I understand that a multicultural nation living in peace with itself in boring and unacceptable. Perhaps China should go in the way of Iraq. I'm sure a good old fashion civil war, death and destruction would be more entertaining for you to watch on CNN as you crunch on your pop corn and laugh at us silly Chinese rather than to be constantly reminded in the news of a quickly modernizing China. Perhaps it is this fact that entails your hostility to us. China 50 years ago was considered backward to developed western nations. However today China is fast catching up and might surpass some developed western nation? And perhaps it is this possibility that you unacceptable to your tastes. China has been China for over two thousand years. The Romans have come and gone. The Ottoman empire has come and gone. The Persian empire has come and gone. But China was China then and is still China today. And for that I will not apologize. My rant for today, now I feel better, sort of!

:rant:

[parkia00]

14. On behalf of all Chinese people, I apologize.

I'm profoundly sorry that Chinese society and it's people disgust you so. I also must apologize for our ugly culture which although is ancient, is no excuse to be ugly and to irritate you sensitivities. I had not realised that our beliefs are bullshit. Maybe a stop order for believing in our stupid religion and customs should be implemented. Maybe you can give us an idea of something better that yo approve of? I bow down humbly before a superior and admit that our cheap products are exported all over the world including your country. Perhaps it would make you feel better if you call someone to pull out all Chinese manufactured parts found on your computer. Since profits were received for the sale of our cheap goods, it is unfair that we keep it for ourselves to better our lives, cities and infrastructure. Maybe it should be returned and Chinese people revert back to migrant workers like during the 19th century and work for the westerners?

I understand that a multicultural nation living in peace with itself in boring and unacceptable. Perhaps China should go in the way of Iraq. I'm sure a good old fashion civil war, death and destruction would be more entertaining for you to watch on CNN as you crunch on your pop corn and laugh at us silly Chinese rather than to be constantly reminded in the news of a quickly modernizing China. Perhaps it is this fact that entails your hostility to us. China 50 years ago was considered backward to developed western nations. However today China is fast catching up and might surpass some developed western nation? And perhaps it is this possibility that you unacceptable to your tastes. China has been China for over two thousand years. The Romans have come and gone. The Ottoman empire has come and gone. The Persian empire has come and gone. But China was China then and is still China today. And for that I will not apologize. My rant for today, now I feel better, sort of!

:rant: