An analysis of Beijing’s air quality indicates that the health of the vast majority of athletes competing in the summer Olympic Games will not be impaired, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Monday.
Over the past few weeks, the IOC has made an analysis of a set of air quality data - including temperature, wind, humidity and SO2, NO2, CO, Ozone and PM10 readings - which were taken by the Beijing Environment Protection Bureau in August 2007 and given to the IOC.
“The findings indicate that, at Games time one year out, the health of athletes was largely not impaired,” said the Lausanne-based IOC in a statement.
The findings are also supported by the fact that no health issues related to air quality were reported to the Beijing Organizing Committee or the IOC by any team physicians looking after athletes who competed in the August 2007 test events, the statement said.
Besides, no air quality-related problems were reported at the IAAF Junior World Championships that were held in Beijing in August 2006, it added.
“As with all Olympic Games, we want to ensure that air quality risks are mitigated and that measures are put into place to protect the health of the athletes,” said Arne Ljungqvist, chairman of the IOC’s Medical Commission.
“For a few sports where we do see a possible risk, we will monitor the situation daily during Games time, and take whatever decisions are needed at the time to ensure the athletes’ health is protected,” he said.
The official expressed confidence that measures already put in place, plus those planned by Beijing organizers and city authorities, will continue to improve the city’s air quality leading up to - and during- the Games.
Air passengers will be guaranteed safety during the upcoming Beijing Olympics, a senior civil aviation official said Monday.
Li Jiaxiang, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), was speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing NPC session in reference to the foiled attempt on Friday to crash a passenger jet bound for Beijing.
“China’s civil aviation industry adopts very tight security measures, which in recent years have been among the best in the world,” Li said.
“We have the capability to guarantee the safety of airline passengers.”
A China Southern Airlines flight that took off from Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, was forced to make an emergency landing on Friday at Lanzhou, capital of neighboring Gansu province, because “some people were attempting to create an air disaster“, Nur Bekri, chairman of the Xinjiang regional government, said on Sunday.
The Southern Metropolis News quoted an unnamed source yesterday as saying at least two people, including an 18- or 19-year-old girl, were involved in the attempt.
An air hostess smelled a faint odor of gasoline and traced it to the girl, who was put under restraint, the paper said. The suspect was trying to ignite the fuel to cause an explosion in the airplane, the newspaper quoted a CAAC circular as saying.
The paper also said loopholes in the safety procedures at Xinjiang airport were to blame.
Although declining to comment on the accusation, Li, the former head of Air China, the nation’s largest airline company, said “measures will be taken to strengthen the safety of air transportation” for the upcoming Beijing Games.
The Influx of migrants to Beijing is not to be restricted when the city hosts the Olympic Games in August, said Ji Lin, vice mayor of Beijing, on Friday.
Beijing has tightened the inspection of “temporary residential permits” among internal migrants, and the permits are “quite necessary”, said Ji, a deputy to the 11th National People’s Congress, the top legislature.
“The permits are used to enhance management and provide services for the migrants,” he said.
During the Olympics, wanderers and beggars are to receive assistance, said Ji without specifying the measures.
Automobiles registered outside Beijing would be under the same regulations as local vehicles, he pledged, adding that trucks would be diverted at the peripheral areas.
As the capital of the world’s most populous nation, Beijing is home to about 17 million people.
Security is among the top concerns with the Olympics approaching in Beijing, where volunteers are set to patrol the streets and more than 80,000 police and security staff will be on duty at contest venues.
Interpol hasn’t seen any intelligence that suggests a specific terrorist threat to the Beijing Olympics, but organizers should not let their guard down, the head of the international police organization said Wednesday.
Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble, speaking at a security conference in Hong Kong, said he was satisfied with the security measures being put in place for the Games, but officials should still be on the lookout for threats.
“I think prudence requires to recognize that it could be (a terrorist target),” he said.
China has called for closer international cooperation to prevent possible attacks, and has sought advice on Olympic security from the United States, Germany, Israel and other foreign governments. FBI head Robert Mueller said during a visit earlier this year that China’s security preparations for the Olympics were impressive and that his agency was lending its expertise on fending off possible terrorist attacks.
China has also boosted anti-terrorism training for its military, with troops focusing on biochemical and nuclear threats and emergency rescue operations.
The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Security promised to make security for the Olympics a priority in its work for 2008.
At a mobilization meeting on Saturday, the leading officials of the city stressed the importance of bringing the bureau’s whole capabilities into play, strictly controlling the situation of public security and strengthening anti-terrorism and anti-riot tasks.
They urged an active organization of comprehensive combat drills and exercises; improvement of the logistics and command systems; maximum deployment of police forces; enhancement of grass-roots prevention and control networks; boosting of sense of security among the public; and maintenance of coercion over crimes.
Bureau director Ma Zhenchuan signed a letter of responsibility with the representatives of its various competent agencies.
Wang Anshun, vice secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China in charge of political and legal affairs attended and addressed the meeting.
Present at the meeting were also Liu Jing, vice minister of Public Security and chief of the Beijing Olympic Security Coordination Group; Meng Hongwei, vice minister of Public Security.
Beijing Olympic organizers do not plan to move some events out of the city despite concerns from athletes about the air quality in the Chinese capital, an organizing committee official said on Tuesday.
“So far, we have no plans to hold events such as the marathon at a place outside Beijing,” Liu Wenbin, deputy director of BOCOG’s sports department, told a press briefing.
But Liu admitted that BOCOG has arranged rest days when drafting the competition schedule so that they can make adjustments if unfavorable weather conditions occur.
“Any decisions to postpone or cancel Olympic events must be made jointly by the IOC, the international federations, BOCOG and broadcasting rights holders,” he said.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said in August last year that some outdoor endurance events might have to be rescheduled if the air is not good enough during the Games period.
Despite billions of dollars spent to improve its environment, Beijing is often blanketed by smog and a report released in last October by the United Nations Environment Program said Beijing was on course to hold a Green Olympics but air quality remained a problem.
However, Chinese authorities believe the air quality will improve significantly by the time the Aug. 8-24 Games start.
Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the municipal bureau of environmental protection, had said the city will order at least one third of 3.3 million vehicles off the road during the 16-day Olympics and close dust-spewing construction sites and polluting factories.
As leant from the operation team of the National Aquatics Center, or the “Water Cube” on February 14, the venue is ready for the 16th FINA Diving World Cup from February 19 to 24, 2008.
The FINA World Cup is the third largest diving event after the Olympics and FINA world Championships. Furthermore, the 16th FINA World Cup will take place at the just-inaugurated Olympic venue, so that it has attracted 310 athletes, 218 coaches and 42 international judges from 54 countries.
Many top divers from worldwide have been registered and the host team has fielded the best lineup, including 3m springboard divers Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia, who will also participate in women’s synchronized events. On men’s side, He Chong and Qin Kai will take part in 3m springboard, while veteran Wang Feng will join Qin Kai in synchronized competitions.
The women’s 10m platform will feature world champions Wang Xin and Chen Ruolin, who will be also synchronized participants.
There will be big names from Russia, Canada, Australia and France too.
The 16th FINA World Cup is following the Olympic standards to set 8 events: Men/Women 3m springboard, 10m platform, synchronized 3m springboard and synchronized 10m platform.The competitions will last 6 days with the following time table:
February 19 - Men’s synchronized 3m springboard preliminaries and finals
February 20 - Women’s 10m platform semifinals and finals
February 21 - Men’s 3m springboard semifinals and finals; women’s synchronized 10m platform preliminaries and finals
February 22 - Men’s synchronized 10m platform preliminaries and finals
February 23 - Women’s 3m springboard semifinals and finals
February 24 - Men’s 10m platform semifinals and finals; women’s synchronized 3m springboard preliminaries and finals
With more than five months to go until the Olympics, Beijing residents are making progress with their etiquette, as indicated by a “city index.”
A survey released by Renmin University found that in 2007, 2.54percent of people still spat in public, down by 2.36 percentage points from 2006.
Over the past three years, the poll surveyed more than 10,000 local residents and 1,000 foreigners who had lived in Beijing for more than two years. It also gathered 3,000-hour observations from300,000 people at 320 public venues and 200,000 automobiles.
The survey found that the occurrence of littering in public had dropped from 5.3 percent in 2006 to 2.86 percent in 2007 and queue-jumping dropped from 6 percent to 1.5 percent.
The “civic index” of Beijingers, calculated using several parameters, was 73.38 in 2007, up from 65.21 and 69.06 in 2005 and2006, respectively. The index reflects compliance with rules involving public health and public order, attitudes towards strangers, etiquette at sports events and a willingness to contribute to the Olympic Games.
However, the “civic index” still fell short of the standard required for the 2008 Olympics, according to Sha Lianxiang, a sociology professor at Renmin University. The standard is said to be 80 points.
Beijing expects to receive 550,000 foreign tourists during the Olympics and an estimated 2 million domestic tourists will also visit.
Beijing, host city of the upcoming summer Olympics, will have special teams to conduct daily safety checks of its huge water network.
“The team will consist of more than 300 patrol staff and 400 maintenance workers doing round-the-clock checks and maintenance of the water pipelines and ground water systems,” said Yu Yaping, an official with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Water Affairs.
Yu said that regular inspections would officially start in May.
“The Games will be held in August, which is the annual flood season in Beijing. The routine checks will cover sound drainage of rain water, especially in the sports venues,” said Yu.
There are also many large “waterscapes” built to beautify the city for the big event, and the bureau will also be responsible for detecting groundwater pollution.
Water safety is a key factor in guaranteeing success in hosting the world event.
The capital, which has ongoing water supply problems, has prepared to guarantee sufficient water for the Olympics. Water diverted through the country’s south-north diversion project will reach Beijing by March.
Beijing’s neighboring province, Hebei, will contribute its reservoir water to back up the national capital’s supply.
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