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Life  
New "Weather"

    Beijingers with long memories were astounded by the clear blue skies they saw during the Games thanks to the municipal order shutting down heavily polluting factories and halving the number of cars on the roads. The lingering haze that always seems to shroud Beijing was replaced by successive days of clean, fresh air. According to statistics issued by the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, during the 17 days of the Beijing Olympics, the air quality in Beijing was the best in more than a decade, with 10 days rated grade I, and the rest grade II. Commensurately, the indexes of principal pollutants all dropped markedly.

    The fine weather was a direct result of strict measures imposed by the government. Since June 23, 2008, half of all official cars belonging to the Beijing municipal government were taken off the roads. From July 20 to September 20, Beijing only allowed odd- or even-numbered licence plates into the city on alternate days. In consequence, there were roughly 2 million fewer vehicles in Beijing during rush hour, reducing carbon emissions by more than 118,000 tons, 63 percent less than pre-Olympic readings.

    Construction sites were also shut down, and heavily polluting enterprises, such as thermal-power plants and petrochemical plants, were strictly controlled. Dust control in the city, which sits on a desert plain, was also enhanced, while farther away, in areas like Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, and Inner Mongolia, heavily polluting enterprises like metallurgy and building materials were subjected to control measures as well.

    While these measures were originally intended to be temporary, their impending cancellation as the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics neared their end provoked an unprecedented public outpouring of concern. Beijingers had become used to the beautiful weather, and thousands of voices were raised urging the city to maintain the controls. The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau has publicized several specific alternative moves, including an accelerated elimination of heavily polluting vehicles, the shutdown of enterprises until such time as they resolve their emission problems, as well as further controls on dust pollution during construction.

    Currently, officials are working on a new method to substitute for the much-talked-about restriction on vehicles with even- and odd-numbered license plates. Some experts have suggested using economic incentives to curb vehicle use, including an increase in parking fees, London-style congestion charges, and ensuring greater access to public transportation.

    To guarantee air quality during the Olympics, a coordination group was established by related organs in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebai, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, marking the first time in government circles that environmental protection work was carried out jointly by separate administrations. According to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and environmental protection bureaus in Tianjin and Hebei collaborated to find remedies for air pollution control.

New "Sports"

    On August 9, famous shooter Du Li failed to win China's first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, finishing fifth. As the champion at the Athens Olympics four years earlier, she was expected to put in a good performance for the Chinese delegation.

    Although she faltered, many volunteers cheered her up by saying "Come on, Du Li!" She also received postcards writing "proud of you." Even on the Internet, where nationalist emotions are easily stirred up, more than 70 percent of Netizens said they could live with Du Li's poor performance.

    Five days later, she competed in another Olympic final. Steeling herself for a steady, even outstanding performance, she finally took gold. She bowed deeply to the audience and said, "I'm fine, and thank you everyone. I am moved that so many have sent me cards and cheered me up." One media outlet opined: "Du's gold medal does not merely belong to her, but to all Chinese people, who have shown their maturity."

    The Chinese people did indeed display a new understanding of sports during the Beijing Olympics. Sports once aroused deep-seated nationalist feelings, and the tally of gold medals eventually assumed a political importance out of all keeping with the sporting ideals of the Olympic Games. Consequently, when the famous "gymnastics prince" Li Ning came back crestfallen from the 1988 Seoul Olympics, most opinions were openly contemptuous, accusing him of "humiliating the country." Some even sent him razor blades and ropes, hinting the country would be better off without him.

    Today's China has little resemblance to the China of 20 years ago. With its newly acquired economic power, China no longer needs to excessively rely on Olympic champions to demonstrate its strength. As a result, the Chinese people's understanding of sports has refocused on the essence of the Games.

    No longer do the number of Olympic gold medals have an inevitable association in people's minds with a country's strength and development. Match results are more of a concern for individual athletes, and no longer is national honor strictly bound up with them.

    In a thought-provoking twist, U.S. Olympic shooter Matthew Emmons twice failed to win gold in the last shots, opening the way for a Chinese victory. Unlike four years ago, when expressions of joy for one more Chinese gold medal would have superseded all other considerations, Chinese spectators felt sorry for the shooting genius and deeply admired his magnanimity when he hugged the winner.

    By all appearances, the "new sports" have gone beyond nationalistic rivalries, and a newly resurgent spirit of sportsmanship has made its appearance.

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VOL.59 NO.12 December 2010 Advertise on Site Contact Us