WASHINGTON — A 104-minute film lecture that outlines the serious pollution in China was removed from the nation’s Internet on Friday, after receiving millions of views and raising hopes that the country’s leadership might tackle China’s widespread smog problem.

The film – by Chai Jing, one of the best-known journalists in China and a well-known former state television reporter – was released right before China’s two most important political events, the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

“They killed Chai’s film, but didn’t kill the smog,” Lu Weimin, a lawyer in Shanghai, said on Sina Weibo, China’s most popular micro-blog site. “This is like getting rid of people who raise questions, but not solving problems.”

Released last Saturday, “Under the Dome” had received 42.9 million views on Youku, a video-sharing website, by 5 p.m. Thursday. It prompted 530,460 posts on Weibo.


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