The Portrait of a Filthy "Olympic Host" - - Dirty air and the Beijing
Olympics

Dirty air and the Beijing Olympics

Published: July 30 2008 19:09 | Last updated: July 30 2008 19:09

The arrival of dense smog in both Beijing and Hong Kong in recent days
has delivered a salutary fright to the organisers of the Olympics less
than two weeks before the opening of the games on August 8.

Officials in both cities have tried every trick in their propaganda
arsenals to play down the significance of the air pollution. They have
blamed unfavourable weather conditions, which simply means there has not
been enough wind to blow the pollution somewhere else. And, in the case
of Beijing, they have pointed out that the pollution would have been
even worse had they not taken special measures to protect the Olympics.