EDITORIAL: Burping in Beijing

Chinese officials announced plans last week to regulate transportation in Beijing, in order to reduce emissions and improve air-quality levels for the Olympic games next month. Unfortunately, this action appears to be a quick fix to appease the world while under a microscope rather than a promise of concrete action that is long overdue. Beginning July 20, only half of the city’s 3.3 million drivers will be permitted on the road each day, through a rotation based on license- plate numbers. The restrictions will last until Sept. 20 - about a month after the closing ceremonies of the 29th Olympiad and three days following the Paralympic games. Beijing said 70 percent of government motor vehicles will also be suspended during the two-month period. According to Du Shaozhong, deputy chief of Beijing’s Environmental Protection Bureau, “vehicle emissions during the Olympic Games are expected to drop by 63 percent,” (approximately 188,000 tons of pollutant gasses), during the time of the initiative.

As China’s government spends time and money to clean up and improve its image, uneasiness regarding Tibet in the international community has led to protests at torch relays and calls from across the world for President Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies. But the Chinese government remains steadfast on the issue. “China’s solid position is against the politicizing of the Olympics,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jiancho stated June 26. Since its 1998 bid for the Olympic games, the Chinese government has invested approximately 3.5 billion yuan to implement changes and sponsor research to improve the air quality for Olympic athletes. Many of Beijing’s major steelmakers have also been relocated and outlying areas of Beijing have been prohibited from burning straw, a common practice of farmers following harvests in the more rural areas. Once the games officially begin, the Environmental Protection Ministry plans to use satellites to make sure farmers are in compliance.

Perhaps Chinese officials think the world will be too distracted by Beijing’s potential two-month triumph over air pollution to remember the nation’s unyielding hold over Tibet and Beijing’s human-rights offenses. When all is said and done, however, Beijing’s 3.3 million drivers will be back on the road in late September, gold medals will have been distributed and China will continue to “improve” its environment just as it briefly “improved” its human-rights image. Hopefully, the world will still be watching.