Beijing Is Polluted
Since I had promised myself I would never devote a post to Beijing's pollution, please consider this to be on government manipulation of statistics and the perpetual need to examine Chinese government reporting. The International Herald Tribune just did an article, entitled, "Air Quality Improvements in Beijing Challenged," on a study claiming the sole basis for Beijing's claimed air pollution improvements rest on its no longer "including readings from two stations in polluted areas and [its now] ... using readings in three other stations in less polluted locales (h/t to China Challenges)
Comments (3)
Read through and enter the discussion by using the form at the endConfi - January 12, 2008 8:25 AM
This will certainly give us a framework in evaluating the reliability of scientific research data. Pollution in Beijing probably harms the long term residents there more than the occasional short term stay people. Not giving the right numbers for decision makers will certainly affect the health of the locals and is fooling themselves, not the foreigners. What would they do if they want to fool the foreigners ?
Pffefer - January 12, 2008 3:59 PM
Of course the pressure place on Beijing over its polluted air is driven by the Olympic Games, without the games few foreigners (living outside China) would care how polluted Beijing's air is. I hope the Chinese government would place its own citizen's well-being before "face". Having healthy citizens is 1000000000000000000000000000 times more important than hosting the games and appeasing foreign concerns.
nanheyangrouchuan - January 13, 2008 11:28 PM
True Pfeffer, but no Chinese government all of China's history has ever broken much of a sweat over the loss of hundreds, thousands or millions of people to achieve its goal of the moment.
The Great Wall is, after all, filled with the bones of the laborers who built it.