Unable To Clean Air For APEC Summit, China Blocking, Removing Air Quality Data

BEIJING – China has made a gargantuan effort to clear Beijing’s smoggy air for an important regional summit this week, closing hundreds of factories and forcing cars off the road, but its efforts have only been partially successful.

On Monday afternoon, the U.S. Embassy air quality monitor reported a reading of 157, a measurement classified as “unhealthy”. Red-faced, the Chinese government has come up with an innovative solution – block the data from being displayed on local smart phone apps and Web sites.

"Upon instructions from the authorities, for this month's air quality data, please refer to the figure by Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau,” a notice in red on the Web site www.beijingair.com said. “We wish the APEC summit a great success." Indeed, the Beijing government’s own readings on Monday afternoon showed a city average of just 83, and air quality officially classified as “good.” That was the only measurement being displayed on most smartphones this afternoon.

But not everyone was fooled. “We have found the perfect solution -- never again do we have to worry about Beijing smog,” one Netizen ironically commented. “We can’t fix the smog, so we fix the smog report,” said another.

EDIT

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/11/10/unable-to-clean-air-completely-for-apec-china-resorts-to-blocking-data/