Beijing plays down Olympic smog fears

其实，无论怎么回避，空气污染都是一个不争的事实。也许国际奥委会为了讨好中国庞大的体育市场，不会推迟或者取消在中国举办的奥运会。但是，中国必将在奥运会上把自己负责人的大国的颜面丢尽。要知道，现在全球都在关注环境问题，但是中国的首都却仍旧用环境换经济发展，这是什么道理？

且让我们拭目以待。

Beijing plays down Olympic smog fears

from：FT中文网 ，版权原媒体所有，商业媒体请勿转载。

Chinahas no plans to order factories in and around Beijing to suspend operations during next year's Olympic Games, despite widespread concerns about the effect of air pollution on athletes.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Liu Qi, Beijing Communist party chief and head of the Olympic organising committee, waved aside worries that bad air could mar a sporting event in which the government has invested enormous political capital.

“We are completely confident that Olympic athletes will be able to take part in their competitions normally next August,” Mr Liu said.

With analysts reporting that concentrations of fine particulates and ozone often hit unsafe levels in Beijing in summer, it had been widely assumed that China would order some companies in the city and nearby provinces to close or cut back production during the event.

However, Mr Liu said while regional governments were co-operating with efforts to combat air pollution, the focus was on implementing existing environmental rules rather than on temporary measures.

“The main thing is to strengthen factories' management of gases and reduce emissions of pollutants,” said Mr Liu, one of 23 members of the Chinese Communist party's politburo. “We have not made any demand for suspensions of operations.”

His comments are Beijing's most direct response yet to speculation about how it will handle an issue that has threatened to overshadow its otherwise smooth Olympic preparations.

Last month, celebrations to mark one year to go to the August 8 2008 opening of the Games were clouded by warnings from Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, that bad air could force changes to the timing of some outdoor events.

But Mr Liu said trials last month of measures to reduce emissions had gone well, with air pollution falling about 20 per cent in the city. The measures have included removing 1.3m cars from the streets, the suspension of earth-moving work and bans on some types of heavily polluting vehicles.