{"id":403304,"date":"2025-09-19T18:59:37","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T16:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=403304"},"modified":"2025-09-19T19:00:28","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T17:00:28","slug":"claim-chinese-dismiss-climate-issues-as-elitist-western-values","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=403304","title":{"rendered":"Claim: Chinese Dismiss Climate Issues as Elitist, \u201cWestern Values\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by\u00a0<\/strong>Eric Worrall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 there is a widespread suspicion and resistance toward what are perceived as \u201celite discourses\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

To make the climate issue resonate in China, root it in local realities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate discourse must connect with jobs, security and everyday life if it is to win public support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Tan Hao<\/a>
Sept. 17, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few months ago, Chinese student Jiang Yurong\u2019s commencement speech at Harvard University ignited a heated debate on the Chinese internet.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Her remarks emphasised diversity, humanity and globalism. They were met<\/strong><\/a> with ridicule back home<\/strong>, with some criticising them as empty and self-righteous<\/strong>. Others accused her of promoting so-called \u201cWestern values\u201d.<\/strong> In the context of today\u2019s tense international geopolitics, she was even portrayed as a spokesperson for American interests.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many online controversies, the discussion soon faded. But the deeper problem it reflected has not gone away. In China\u2019s public sphere, there is a widespread suspicion and resistance toward what are perceived as \u201celite discourses\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate change has become a central issue on the social agenda in many advanced economies. It is often viewed as an existential crisis, reflected in frequent protests<\/a> that sometimes escalate into direct actions \u2013 blocking coal trains, disrupting traffic, and even vandalising museum artworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By contrast, public interest in China remains limited<\/strong>. This is despite government departments, research institutions and media platforms such as Dialogue Earth continuing to advance research and discussion on climate issues, with some success. For most Chinese citizens, climate change continues to rank far below employment, housing, medical care or education<\/strong> as a pressing concern<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Read more:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.eco-business.com\/opinion\/to-make-the-climate-issue-resonate-in-china-root-it-in-local-realities\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The full article mentions some people think global warming will improve life in China. They\u2019ve got a point \u2013 provinces like the near subarctic Chinese province Heilongjiang, which shares a border with Siberia, could use some global warming in winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frankly it\u2019s a good thing China are skeptical of Western climate crisis narratives, good for all of us. Everyone believing the same falsehoods at the same time would be putting all of humanity\u2019s eggs in the same basket \u2013 a global disaster when the basket is dropped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cClimate change is natural, and global warming may even benefit China\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":403307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"Explore the unique perspectives on climate change in China, where local realities shape public interest and skepticism towards elite narratives.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Connecting Climate Change to Everyday Life in China","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691838150,691818341,691819134,691818056,691821055],"class_list":{"0":"post-403304","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-elite-discourses","9":"tag-china","10":"tag-climate-alarmism","11":"tag-climate-change","12":"tag-climate-politics","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AQM_G4MNwR07EUCH9B3NJPleBoBXV5V7Ycj9tth4Uxt9s7mRABQ4xu4lUDr4kooFLY-svFlcQ79qQ-bvHZTN9vrHj4hxsvH-xGVLZ8OjllFuVIZitMnGM58cS-5nlzM2OKPXdNM9uoA0ArUIdPA_eWEQtERFfA-1.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1GUU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":292641,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=292641","url_meta":{"origin":403304,"position":0},"title":"Climate Change Radicals are the ACTUAL “Science Deniers”","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"25\/12\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Watch as Mark skillfully dismantles the myths surrounding the climate change discourse and traces the evolving narrative back to the 1970s.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/00Screenshot-2023-12-25-163912.png?fit=1000%2C566&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/00Screenshot-2023-12-25-163912.png?fit=1000%2C566&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/00Screenshot-2023-12-25-163912.png?fit=1000%2C566&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/00Screenshot-2023-12-25-163912.png?fit=1000%2C566&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":419138,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=419138","url_meta":{"origin":403304,"position":1},"title":"Tide Turns Against Climatists\u2019 Agenda","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"For nearly two decades,\u00a0Britain\u2019s climate lobby has held an iron grip on policy, discourse, and public imagination, promising\u00a0a utopian future of\u00a0cheap energy, green jobs, and global leadership. 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