People Flee Sichuan Amid Chemical Plant Leak; US Colleges Warned to Divest from China

In a district of Sichuan Province, there was a suspected gas leak from a chemical plant. Many citizens fled the city, after smelling a strong odor. On August 21, local resident Mr. Zheng told NTD that there was a thick pungent mist in the air in Wutongqiao District for three consecutive days. Colleges and universities in the United States, meanwhile, have received warnings from the US State Department to divest from Chinese holdings in their endowments. Keith Krach, the undersecretary for economic growth, energy and the environment, wrote in a letter that boards of US university endowments “would be prudent to divest” from firms or stocks tied to China. He said this was in the “likely outcome” that the firms may be delisted from US exchanges by the end of next year. He also asked the universities to “strongly consider publicly disclosing to your campus communities immediately,” all the Chinese companies that the university endowments are invested in. These stories and more in this episode of Crossroads.