Chai Jing

The strongest governments on earth cannot clean up pollution by themselves. They must rely on each ordinary person, like you and me, on our choices, and on our will.

Looking back on humanity's battle with pollution, history has been made by thousands of ordinary people who one day say, 'No. I'm not satisfied. I don't want to wait, and I don't want to pass the buck. I want to stand up and do something. I want to do it here, and I want do to it now.'

The reform and opening up of China hasn't been happening quite the way we've been told, like a small bird breaking out of its egg. Its more like a cicada shedding its skin, emerging ever so slowly. Energy is the last part of that shell that needs to be shed.

I'd never felt afraid of pollution before and never wore a mask no matter where. But when you carry a life in you, what she breathes, eats and drinks are all your responsibility; then you feel the fear.

Environmental protection and economic development are not in conflict. Environmental protection is not a burden but a source for innovation. It can increase competition, create jobs, and lifts the economy.