Wukong
stanford team: Steven Hong, Christina Zhou
Our project, titled Wukong, focuses on promoting green freight practices in China, as trucking is a major source of air pollution such as particulate matter. “Green freight” refers to a system of practices that increases freight efficiency, effectively diminishing fuel consumption and the resultant emissions.We worked with partners in Tsinghua University in Beijing and with Clean Air Asia who created a brief informational video promoting sustainable trucking practices to be presented to local policy makers. We focused on a publicity model to spread the word about green freight, as public opinion regarding environmental issues has been increasingly effective for prompting government action in China.
The name “Wukong” is derived from the classical Chinese legend of the supernatural monkey king Sun Wukong. “Wu” and “Kong” independently mean “realize” and “air,” reflecting our desire to make clean air a reality for all of China.
Team Members:
Stanford team
The name “Wukong” is derived from the classical Chinese legend of the supernatural monkey king Sun Wukong. “Wu” and “Kong” independently mean “realize” and “air,” reflecting our desire to make clean air a reality for all of China.
Team Members:
Stanford team
Tsinghua Team
Context:
China is known to have some of the most polluted air in the world. In 2010, the Chinese population lost 25 million years of healthy life due to air pollution(1) Medium and heavy duty trucks represents only 8% of the Chinese transportation fleet but emit over 60% of PM2.5* emissions from vehicles(2) PM2.5 is a major focus of pollution efforts in China, as it is responsible not only for the haze in many Chinese cities, but also an increased risk of cancer, respiratory, and cardiovascular disease and premature death(3).
Creating Change and Citizen Empowerment
The power to enact large-scale transformations resides almost entirely in the hands of the Chinese government. Ordinary citizens must form close connections with government officials in order to negotiate their interests. Clean Air Asia has already established a reliable track record
of NGO and state collaboration, piloting a successful green freight initiatives program in the city of Guanzhou that saved $3.6 billion in fuel costs(4). The NGO has given our team the opportunity to present an informational video on the benefits of green freight practices to an audience of government officials. But Chinese citizens without such connections may find it more difficult to communicate their interests to the government. The government’s reputation to ignore public outcry and efficiently stifle any sign of protests have furthered deterred
public expression.
However, the recent advent of social media has given the public a new voice that the government has been inclined to answer. The case is especially true surrounding issues with widespread implications, such as pollution – from Beijing to Guangdong, regular citizens have been able to sway government legislation by creating a massive buzz on applications like Weibo and WeChat(5). Most prominently is the Sun Zhigang Incident, in which the public outcry over a law that resulted in the death of migrant worker Sun was so severe that the government made a reformation to the law to address the concerns(6)
Our Approach:
Wukong is a two-pronged effort composed of an informational video directed to government officials and a viral infographic campaign directed to the public.
The Tsinghua partners spearheaded the production of the video, with support on the Stanford side with script
modifications and an English language version. The video will be shown directly to an audience of government officials through the NGO Clean Air Asia. The Stanford partners produced a publicity model set on instilling a viral social media campaign, with support from the Tsinghua side for greater insight to how Chinese citizens interact with social media.
We chose to spread our cause through an infographic due to several studies that demonstrated increased interest and information retention7. Both teams conducted research and field interviews to garner a greater understanding on the Chinese trucking industry and social media landscape, respectively. Additionally, the urban sustainability course introduced us to broader themes, such as the four pillars of sustainability: culture, economy, environment, and society.
China is known to have some of the most polluted air in the world. In 2010, the Chinese population lost 25 million years of healthy life due to air pollution(1) Medium and heavy duty trucks represents only 8% of the Chinese transportation fleet but emit over 60% of PM2.5* emissions from vehicles(2) PM2.5 is a major focus of pollution efforts in China, as it is responsible not only for the haze in many Chinese cities, but also an increased risk of cancer, respiratory, and cardiovascular disease and premature death(3).
Creating Change and Citizen Empowerment
The power to enact large-scale transformations resides almost entirely in the hands of the Chinese government. Ordinary citizens must form close connections with government officials in order to negotiate their interests. Clean Air Asia has already established a reliable track record
of NGO and state collaboration, piloting a successful green freight initiatives program in the city of Guanzhou that saved $3.6 billion in fuel costs(4). The NGO has given our team the opportunity to present an informational video on the benefits of green freight practices to an audience of government officials. But Chinese citizens without such connections may find it more difficult to communicate their interests to the government. The government’s reputation to ignore public outcry and efficiently stifle any sign of protests have furthered deterred
public expression.
However, the recent advent of social media has given the public a new voice that the government has been inclined to answer. The case is especially true surrounding issues with widespread implications, such as pollution – from Beijing to Guangdong, regular citizens have been able to sway government legislation by creating a massive buzz on applications like Weibo and WeChat(5). Most prominently is the Sun Zhigang Incident, in which the public outcry over a law that resulted in the death of migrant worker Sun was so severe that the government made a reformation to the law to address the concerns(6)
Our Approach:
Wukong is a two-pronged effort composed of an informational video directed to government officials and a viral infographic campaign directed to the public.
The Tsinghua partners spearheaded the production of the video, with support on the Stanford side with script
modifications and an English language version. The video will be shown directly to an audience of government officials through the NGO Clean Air Asia. The Stanford partners produced a publicity model set on instilling a viral social media campaign, with support from the Tsinghua side for greater insight to how Chinese citizens interact with social media.
We chose to spread our cause through an infographic due to several studies that demonstrated increased interest and information retention7. Both teams conducted research and field interviews to garner a greater understanding on the Chinese trucking industry and social media landscape, respectively. Additionally, the urban sustainability course introduced us to broader themes, such as the four pillars of sustainability: culture, economy, environment, and society.
References
1. h$p://www.ny+mes.com/2013/04/02/world/asia/air-‐pollu+on-‐linked-‐to-‐1-‐2-‐million-‐deaths-‐in-‐china.html?_r=0
2. http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/sites/default/files/presentations/AM-3-Fang_Ke-CGFI_Slides_EN_3.pdf
3. h$p://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/press/releases/climate-‐energy/2012/air-‐pollu+on-‐health-‐economic/
4. h$p://cleanairini+a+ve.org/portal/system/files/Guangzhou_Green_Trucks_Pilot_-‐_Final_Report_-‐_Final_11June2010.pdf/
5. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a924440e-7fef-11e2-af49-00144feabdc0.html#slide5
6. http://jtl.columbia.edu/using-law-for-a-righteous-purpose-the-sun-zhigang-incident-and-evolving-forms-ofcitizen-
action-in-the-people%E2%80%99s-republic-of-china/
7. h$p://neomam.com/interac+ve/13reasons/
1. h$p://www.ny+mes.com/2013/04/02/world/asia/air-‐pollu+on-‐linked-‐to-‐1-‐2-‐million-‐deaths-‐in-‐china.html?_r=0
2. http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/sites/default/files/presentations/AM-3-Fang_Ke-CGFI_Slides_EN_3.pdf
3. h$p://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/press/releases/climate-‐energy/2012/air-‐pollu+on-‐health-‐economic/
4. h$p://cleanairini+a+ve.org/portal/system/files/Guangzhou_Green_Trucks_Pilot_-‐_Final_Report_-‐_Final_11June2010.pdf/
5. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a924440e-7fef-11e2-af49-00144feabdc0.html#slide5
6. http://jtl.columbia.edu/using-law-for-a-righteous-purpose-the-sun-zhigang-incident-and-evolving-forms-ofcitizen-
action-in-the-people%E2%80%99s-republic-of-china/
7. h$p://neomam.com/interac+ve/13reasons/