BOSTON--Beijing hopes it has broken its string of "bad air days" in time for the start of the Summer Olympics, but experts say the event is not China's most important environmental test.

After seven years of preparation, organizers suffered a setback two weeks before the opening ceremonies when a haze of polluted air shrouded the city for six days starting on July 23.

Cameras captured the sooty skies during the official opening of the Olympic Athlete's Village on July 27, when "the complex was invisible from the nearby main Olympic Green," the Associated Press said.

The air quality fell below safety standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO) until July 29, according to ABC News, although Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau said its readings failed to meet what it called "blue sky" conditions for only four days.

China's clean-air standards differ from the stricter standards of the WHO. China allows more than twice the concentration of heavy particulates, or soot particles, in residential areas and over three times the amount in high-traffic zones, according to a study by the WHO and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Some Olympic athletes have said they plan to wear masks to keep the particles out of their lungs.

But China pledged to meet both standards for the Games, which open Aug. 8. "Under normal meteorological conditions, air quality during the Olympics will meet the national and World Health Organization standards," the environmental bureau's deputy director, Du Shaozhong, told China's official Xinhua news agency in February. "We will fulfill the environmental commitment we made when bidding for the Games."

A mixed reaction

The polluted skies drew a mixed reaction from Chinese officials, government agencies and the press.

The conditions "dampened people's mood and undermined a newly-built confidence in the city's air quality," Xinhua reported on July 29. But Du challenged the photographic evidence of pollution, saying that "pictures cannot reflect reality."

"They are not accurate," Du said. "I really urge you not to use photos to base your assessment of air quality."

While a brief rain brought relief from the worst conditions, officials prepared a new set of emergency measures in case the bad air returns. Under these measures, officials could force 90 percent of the cars off the road, based on their license plate numbers, instead of 50 percent under the even-odd system imposed on July 20. More factory shutdowns and restrictions in neighboring provinces are possible, the official China Daily said.

Whether or not the government achieves what it considers "blue sky" conditions for the Games, the focus on appearances and an Olympic cleanup misses the point, environmental experts told Radio Free Asia.

"The Chinese government has invested a lot of money to try to make this a green Olympics, but in large part they've focused on the wrong things," said Elizabeth Economy, Asia studies director at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Economy said the government has concentrated on "showcase projects" like buildings and Olympic venues that demonstrate "green" technology with new parks and trees.

"These are all wonderful, but when it comes to cleaning up the air, they really didn't put an emphasis on that," said Economy, author of the book The River Runs Black: The Environmental Challenges to China's Future.

'Stopgap measures'

Changes in China's energy policies have been slow in coming, despite years of controversy over their environmental impact. The country burns 2.5 billion tons of high-polluting coal annually, more than twice as much as any other country, yet it suffers from coal shortages as power plants struggle to meet ever-growing demand.

"So now, what you have is some very draconian and stopgap measures to try to produce some blue skies for the weeks of the Olympics," Economy said. "But of course, it hasn't addressed the underpinnings of what's causing this pollution."

Daniela Salaverry, co-director of the China program at Pacific Environment, a San Francisco-based nongovernmental organization, agrees that whether or not Beijing sees blue skies for the Games, the event is a false test of the country's progress in fighting pollution.

"What's important to recognize is that China's a huge country with many environmental challenges," said Salaverry. "The efforts that have taken place in Beijing should really be scaled up so that such pollution controls and improvements can really be seen across China."

Beijing officials are under pressure to deliver positive images under the spotlight of world attention, but China's environmental problems have already been an issue of global concern for years, she said.

"There are certainly longer-term problems, and their solutions must also be long-term," said Salaverry. "All of these are huge environmental challenges that China's facing. After the Olympics end, they will continue to be dealing with these issues."

中国国家新闻出版总署署长柳斌杰的承诺能否在北京奥运会之后成为现实？本台记者与被北京资深媒体人士黄良田进行了以下对话：

“如果真是这样，我们欢迎。”

记者：“你刚才用的这个词‘如果’，有没有可能成为现实呢？”

黄良田：“应该很困难吧。”

记者：“你为什么认为很困难？”

黄良田：“从我们的习惯来看应该是很困难。即使是我们想开放，还有个惯性的力量，包括我们现在处理一些群众的突发事件，都有一个惯性的力量。不一定说谁宣布就行了，是我们整个的管理体制决定的。”

记者：“那这样讲，中国对境外媒体的开放在奥运期间还是一阵风了？”

黄良田：“从习惯势力上会开放一点，会好一点。”

记者：“那对境内媒体有没有可能借对境外媒体的开放也有所惠顾呢？”

黄良田：“境内媒体我看这里头得不到什么东西。境内不是媒体，境内我们是宣传单位。”

柳斌杰称，中国对境外媒体的开放不是一阵风。就境外媒体在北京奥运会之后是否继续享受在中国自由采访这个问题， 柳斌杰是第一位做出承诺的中国政府官员。中国自2007年元月大幅开放境外媒体在中国的采访空间，允许境外记者只需被采访单位和个人同意就可进行采访，而不必像过去那样经过主管对外宣传部门的批准。然而，境外媒体享受的这一自由到今年十月底就自动废止。另一位北京资深媒体人士高瑜不相信柳斌杰的话会在奥运会之后成为现实：

“因为这阵风从来也没有顺当过。就是在这执行的一年多来，从来也没有象如沐春风，老是磕磕绊绊的。现在奥运临近了，可能要表现得好一点。把一些象BBC、美国之音、包括‘国际特赦’，都是高鼻子、蓝眼睛的网站给开了。但是，对中国人的传媒呢？我们中国人自己办的，包括你们‘自由亚洲’还有很多，当然就更不用说那些法轮功的传媒了。中共过去一直实行内外有别，对外国人特别宽松，以显示自己的国家形象。而现在凡是尤其包括在香港的，香港已经回归了嘛，很多组织、很多网站、杂志报纸都是不开放的。所以，这一阵风从来也没有很顺当地开过。”

既然柳斌杰的承诺难以在奥运会后兑现，那柳斌杰怎么还做出这样的承诺？高瑜接着表示：

 “刘斌杰现在出面就是提前答应，有点迫不及待。这完全就是因为奥运临头，实际上就是一种承诺，就看他这个承诺到时候还执行不执行？谁知道他刮的是东风还是北风？现在柳斌杰就是在奥运马上要开的时候，我觉得他完全就是一个来应付现在国外普遍的对他的批评。”

应付批评也好，说一套做一套也罢，北京奥运会在有一个星期就要鸣锣开始。那北京奥运会究竟对中国的新闻自由有没有推动作用？黄良天对此表示：

 “有作用，但是作用不是很大，推动媒体开放，中国更加开放，是往这方面走，而且很多内部我们原来的问题都通过奥运会暴露出来了，暴露出来解决了。这个方式方法慢慢地向国际接轨，这是奥运会好的方面。”

记者：“有没有不好的方面呢？”

黄良天：“不好的方面，我们先谈好的方面吧。”

究竟境外媒体奥运会之后能否继续享受中国政府为举办奥运会给予他们的采访自由，有网友说，这要看今年十月后的结果如何。

以上是自由亚洲电台记者闻剑的采访报道。

北京奥运进入倒数阶段，大陆各地公安纷纷举行誓师大会，发誓确保奥运安全，而被称为中国“南大门”的广东，近日也提升了安保戒备，公安已经取消休假。
深圳海关对入境者携带的手提行李，甚至是提包，都要经过x光机检查。

而对人员的出入境也采取非常措施。大陆一名官员星期二告诉本台，从8月1号开始，全国停止办理港澳通行证两个月。“从8月1号开始，一直到9月底，大概停（办）两个月”。

本台尝试向北京市公安局查询，但电话无人接听。香港一家旅行社的职员也表示，确有此事。
据了解，中国国家主席胡锦涛去年6月29日访问香港时，大陆也曾停止20天签发港澳通行证，当时公安局出入境管理局以“电脑故障”为由，停发通行证。不过，当局这次停发签注两个月，时间之长，实属首次。

大陆除加强对边境的控制，各地也在展开“严打”（打击刑事犯罪）行动。据广东羊城晚报和广州的媒体披露，广州将出动10万人巡逻，建五道关卡护城；深圳还将对市内出租屋的所有外国人进行地毯式排查。

据悉，最靠接近香港的深圳最近也突然行动起来，公安局要求全市所有桑拿，在接待夜宿客人时，必须出示身份证。深圳一家桑拿的员工星期二对本台表示，这项新措施将实行至奥运结束，而自新措施实施以来，桑拿的营业额减少，员工收入下降。

记者：现在到桑拿住宿要实名制？
员工：就是啊，要拿身份证，奥运会规定的。

记者：到什么时候结束？
员工：到奥运会结束以后吧。

记者：现在生意受影响吗？
员工：有一点嘛。

记者：少了多少？
员工：生意不好了，赚钱当然少了。

据了解，深圳大部分桑拿的客人是香港居民，因为深圳收费比香港便宜，但是，中国官方大张旗鼓的“反恐”，已经处处设卡检查，给香港人带来了很多不便。
近期，除了桑拿及娱乐场所的生意受到影响，就连深圳地铁也采取了近似于北京地铁的检查方式，有人戏称现在坐地铁就像乘飞机。深圳一位在政府部门工作的官员表示：“现在坐火车，坐地铁，大件行李都要（打开）检查，小刀、小剪子都不让带了，坐火车带水，要先喝一口才能进站”。

记者：娱乐场所呢，比如卡拉ok，夜总会？
市民：卡拉ok夜总会主要是毒的方面，主要是（打击）黄赌毒那些东西。

距离香港一个多小时的珠海九州港，最近也增加了武警岗哨。一名官员告诉本台，这些都跟奥运安保有关。“是因为奥运的原因，查得比较严一点，（现在）在搞什么‘严打’、‘严控’啊，现在九州岛港旅客上船，下船都有那个什么（武警）把守，这个反正是配合奥运嘛”。

据香港苹果日报星期二报道，广州、深圳、珠海边检总站与广东省边防总队，签订管控工作协作机制，防止有恐怖分子借珠江口船舶往来频繁，乘机从珠江口潜入或潜出。各边检站已进入实际管控阶段，在港口、口岸码头实施24小时站岗值班，同时加强检查往来船只。

以上是自由亚洲电台特约记者乔龙的报道

1992年邓小平南巡是中国改革开放历史上重要的一页。当时《深圳特区报》发表了长篇报道《东方风来满眼春－邓小平同志在深圳纪实》，引起很大反响。这篇报道的作者陈锡添最近披露说，当时写这篇报道有一个很遗憾的地方，那就是没有把邓小平的两句重要的讲话写进去。

这两句讲话中的一句是“不要搞政治运动,不要搞形式主义,领导头脑要清醒,不要影响工作”；另一句是“年纪大了,要自觉下来,否则容易犯错误。像我这样年纪老了,记忆力差,讲话又口吃,所以我们这些老人应该下来,全心全意扶持年轻人上去”。这两句话都与政治生态有关。一句是反对搞政治运动，一句是反对老人政治。在1990年代初期，这都属于政治禁忌，被作者自觉的删掉了。

中国新闻人网的负责人郭远光在评论陈锡添的这个遗憾时说，无论是在哪个国家，新闻记者们都要服从所处的时代背景：

这次北京奥运会不仅对主办方的中国政府是个考验，对报道这次盛会的中外媒体也是一个考验。如果发生重大的群体性事件或是其他中国政府不愿看到的负面新闻，报还是不报，政治禁忌能否打破，是一个需要智慧和勇气的问题。

自由亚洲电台申铧采访报道。