Caijing’s English edition takes a long, detailed–and ultimately very skeptical–look at the prognosis for clean skies during the Olympics:
Beijing officials predicted good fortune on August 8 – exactly one year before the games begin – when the city recorded an air quality index of 88. For the Chinese, eight is a lucky number.
But a different story was being told in the United States on August 8, when International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge told news broadcaster CNN that “if the air quality in Beijing is not sufficiently good, endurance games such as biking will probably have to be rescheduled.” [Full Text]
See also: Caijing’s interview last month with Beijing vice-mayor Zhao Fengtong (˵µÂá§Ê°ê, featured heavily in the above article): “Gains and loss in Beijing’s air quality control”
[Image: A rare blue sky in Bejing, by shizhao via Flickr]