From The "All Better Now!" Dept. - Smog That Choked Beijing Runners To Be Gone By APEC Meeting

[hatrack]

When cold wind didn’t arrive as expected, participants in the annual Beijing Marathon had to endure the 26-mile race in the thick smog surrounding the city. But world leaders coming to China’s capital for an APEC summit in November won’t need to put all their hope for clean air on the gusts of nature.

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Last week, the government of Hebei province, which is said to be a major contributor to the air pollution in Beijing, said it planned to shut down work at 881 construction sites that produce large amounts of dust. The government in Shandong province also said it would shut down 112 projects during the APEC conference.

This month, authorities in Beijing announced that half of the city’s private vehicles would be forced off the streets from Nov. 3-12, cutting the city’s total traffic by 35%, the official New China News Agency reported. And the State Council, China’s cabinet, approved the local government’s request to give a six-day holiday to staff from government departments, institutions and other organizations in Beijing from Nov. 7-12.

Such temporary measures may improve the city’s air quality during the two-week APEC conference. But the city’s overall air quality is unlikely to change afterward. “The difference in Beijing’s air quality during and after the 2008 Olympics was a good example,” Chinese environmentalist Zhao Liang told Beijing-based Pengpai News. “This kind of special project to combat air pollution will not improve the city’s air quality fundamentally.”

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http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-china-smog-apec-beijing-marathon-20141020-story.html

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Potemkin had nothing on Beijing. nt