Is China too Dirty for the Olympics?
Last night China presented a dazzling display of fireworks and acrobatics to a crowd of 10,000 people as part of the official welcoming ceremony for next year’s Olympic games to be hosted in Beijing. Held in Tiananmen Square, notorious for the 1989 tragedy when troops brutally crushed pro-democracy demonstrations with huge loss of life, the ceremony has not allayed fears in the international press about the country’s fitness to host the games.
China has already been subject to scrutiny over human rights issues and freedom of the press. Critics claim it has failed to live up to promises of press freedom made when they were awarded the Games in 2001, and recently concerns have also been raised over pollution levels at the Games, which could adversely affect athletes’ performance and health. The country has a bad track record on environmental issues (over the last few months there have been a number of scares over contamination in products produced or processed in China), and the International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has said that some competitions might have to be moved if continuing efforts by organisers to clean up the city’s notoriously smoggy air were unsuccessful.
Billions have been spent in an attempt to reduce pollution in Beijing, without success. Many factories have been closed or moved elsewhere, but the rapid rate of construction in the city contributes to its smog problem. Wang Junyan, the director of cycling events for the games, assured reporters that the events would go ahead, adding that “Rogge’s comment reminds us that we have to work harder to fix environmental problems.”
We can only hope the international pressure of the Olympics convinces the country to clean its act up.
Comments
7 Responses to “Is China too Dirty for the Olympics?”
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Posted: Oct 13th, 2007 at 2:00 pm1China to clean its act up »Reply to this comment.[…] Sun Zhengcai, Chinese Minister of Agriculture, told consumers that they had no reason to fear eating most of the nations produce. However, the country has struggled with bad press throughout the year, combined with a bad track record on pollution. […]
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pingback:
Posted: Oct 13th, 2007 at 5:51 pm2Can US derail UN climate change talks? »Reply to this comment.[…] we reported recently, China has overtaken the US as the largest single emitter of CO2, and its rapid growth has resulted in polluted cities and […]
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pingback:
Posted: Oct 13th, 2007 at 5:56 pm3Oil companies are taking us for fools, says Gore »Reply to this comment.[…] can’t: be excluded just because it’s technically a developing country,” Gore said. China, whose pollution level is putting the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing under threat, overtook the US in CO2 emissions by 7.5% in 2006. Blog this: Digg it del.icio.us Technorati? […]
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pingback:
Posted: Jan 29th, 2008 at 4:08 pm4Global Warming Causes Alien Invasion in Antarctica : Environmental News Blog | Environment News | Environmental GraffitiReply to this comment.[…] species have had a significant negative impact on the ecology of many other continents. The environmental problems caused by alien species, such as pigs and rabbits, in large sections of the world has been studied […]
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Chinese
Posted: Mar 16th, 2008 at 4:09 pm5Reply to this comment.China is too clear for the Olympics,thank you.
and welcome to Beijing. -
Dave
Posted: Mar 23rd, 2008 at 1:05 pm6Reply to this comment.Well i certainly have no intention of going to that country…
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Personal Trainer
Posted: May 20th, 2008 at 4:15 pm7Reply to this comment.China should be a place which is less polluted, because a major share of their population uses cycles as their primary mode of transport. The percentage of people using cycles is much higher than those of any other country. This should reduce the pollution from the automobiles. On the other hand the fact mentioned in this article is to be considered. The Chinese economy rapidly growing. so is the wealth and population. Housing need for the rising population and the need of infrastructure development for the industry has to be met.
title=”Mercedes Benz”>Mercedes Benz
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