With now daily reports that the smog levels in Beijing are frequently literally "off the charts", it was only a matter of time before some aspiring Chinese entrepreneur decided to provide a much demanded product: clean air. As expected, Xinhua reports that "philanthropist" Chen Guangbiao is now actively selling canned air to willing and eager Beijingites, tired of inhaling toxic, carcinogenic smog particles. The cost: $0.80 for a can of fresh air.

Xiamen University adds:

Chinese billionaire and controversial philanthropist Chen Guangbiao has unveiled his latest invention, canned fresh air, under his registered trademark “Good Person Chen Guangbiao.” Each can retails for between 4 yuan and 5 yuan (around $0.80). He has produced 100,000 cans, containing the fresh air collected from Wuhe county in Anhui province and Taiwan. He also said he is willing to donate profits from selling organic food to the People’s Liberation Army to safeguard China’s sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands.

So the next time someone asks what it takes to make one a controversial, billionaire "philanthropist" the answer is simple - selling empty cans to idiots for $0.80 a pop. And tangentially, we dread to learn just what passes for "organic food" in China...

The good news is that, at least for now, the cans of hot air will contain no horse meat.

The better news is that the US (and French, and other insolvent "egalitarian" states) administrations haven't figured out how to tax said purchase of nothing.

Yet.