Chinese Officials Vow Cleaner Beijing Air After Olympics

Building on strict anti-pollution measures that have helped Beijing enjoy its cleanest air in 10 years, Chinese officials have vowed to institute permanent regulations that will assure relatively clear air over the capital after the Olympics end this Sunday. “Beijing will be built into a livable city,” the deputy director of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau told reporters. Thanks to a host of measures — including shutting down or relocating hundreds of factories and cutting traffic on city streets by half — Beijing’s air quality has been rated excellent to fairly good for the last 18 days. Rains also cleared the air over the city of 15 million. Officials said Beijing’s long-term plan for keeping the city’s air relatively clean includes reducing automobile emissions, pollution from coal-burning power plants, and dust from construction sites.