As Americans observe with horror the destruction caused by the BP oil spill, similar disasters in China are happening quietly and without coverage from Chinese or international press. In the past few weeks alone, a plastics factory exploded in Nanjing, expelling black smoke into the air; industrial chemicals used the manufacture of rubber were spotted in the Songhua River; and 1,500 tons of oil spilled into the Yellow Sea from the port city of Dalian. Despite the magnitude and frequency of these and other natural disasters in China, few people even in the country realize they're happening, due to corporations and the government restricting media coverage.

Story by: Austin Ramzy
FROM TIME