After thirty years of reform and opening-up, China is still developing its economy at a rapid rate. As a consequence, in some regions of the country, environmental pollution by industries has become a major threat to the health of local populations. High rates of cancer and birth defects affect especially the poor in polluted regions. For example, in the Hong River basin, located in the middle of Henan province, paper mills and chemical factories have been discharging sewage into the river for over twenty years. The villagers living along the 254-kilometer river drink polluted groundwater resulting in a multiplication of cancers in the population. Jiawan is one of these villages, with a population of 600. From January 2008 to April 2009 32 villagers died, 80 percent from cancer. Recently, Zhang Jinzhu, the head of the village wrote down the list of deaths for 2008 with a trembling hand, and in tears he passed it on to me. On the list, figured the name of a 17-year-old boy, Li Yonghui, whose father died of liver cancer two years ago, young life abruptly cut short, wasted. Such harrowing stories strike my heart and affect me deeply. Through the media, the internet, and exhibitions, I intend to expose more people to the truth of China's pollution reality.

Fume and dust are everywhere in the Hubin Industrial District, near Shizuishan City, Ningxia. April 22, 2006