Article dissecting China’s Yangtze River fishing ban, which saw water quality improvement and threatened species recovery, divides readers
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenVictoria BelaPublished: 7:00pm, 31 Jul 2026British publication The Economist has come under fire across social media for calling China an “eco-authoritarian” state over its Yangtze River fishing ban, with some users calling out the outlet for its use of the “but at what cost” trope.
“The Chinese Communist Party, once famous for pillaging from the natural world, has set to protecting parts of it. But the country’s ‘eco-authoritarian’ approach deserves scrutiny,” The Economist said in a social media post linking to the article.
The article describes the government’s environmental approach as “top-down and intolerant of resistance” and alleges that at times officials did not listen to environmentalists or the people harmed by the policies.
The Economist article acknowledged the results of the recovery efforts, stating that the river was making a “remarkable comeback” and could offer a lesson for other degraded watercourses in Asia.
