AFTER weeks of unrelenting smog, the skies above Beijing were clear and blue for the third consecutive day yesterday as visitors to the Olympic Games donned shorts to enjoy the sunshine.
Official pollution levels have stayed low in the host city, while the temperature has risen, bringing good cheer to the steady flow of tourists arriving in China over the weekend.
Only a week ago, the city was overcome by a humid haze, but rainfa
ll and breezes have helped clear the air.
The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said air quality was "good" in the 24 hours up to Saturday noon, with the main pollution concern – tiny particulate matter – at what China considers acceptable levels.
Light breezes are also forecast today which will continue to keep pollution in check, ahead of the opening ceremony on Friday.
Though the weather has played its part, so too severe anti-pollution measures introduced by the Chinese authorities have helped clear the blanket of smog – the £9 billion measures include taking half of Beijing's 3.3 million cars off the road and closing down factories in and around the city in recent weeks.
Fan Yuansheng, director general of the department of pollution control at the Environmental Protection Ministry, said China would also probably carry on keeping some government vehicles off Beijing's roads after the Games.
Doubts remain as to conditions for Friday, with some forecasts suggesting thunder and heavy rain will hit the city.
Wang Jianjie, deputy director of the Beijing Meteorological Bureau, said yesterday: "On the 8th, the weather in Beijing will be cloudy and overcast, and we will see some rain showers and thunder showers."
She added: "Good weather has a great deal to do with the natural conditions but whether this can be maintained has a lot to do with our pollution control measures because they also have a lot to do with the improvement."
However, the positive environmental news was offset at the weekend by the revelation that there will be strict rules governing protesters intent on demonstrating at three designated protest parks during the Games.
Chinese nationals must apply to police five days in advance in order to have their message heard, while foreigners are required to submit their application to border authorities in Chinese.
Police must then give an answer at least two days before the planned protest.
Liu Shaowu, security chief for the Beijing Organising Committee, detailed the steps necessary on a statement posted on the official Olympics news website, but warned that China has a broad ban against gatherings deemed "harmful" to national interests.
"Assembling to march and protest is a citizen's right. But it must be stressed that when exercising this right, citizens must respect and not harm others' freedoms and rights, and must not harm national, social, and collective interests," he said.
The protest areas are in public parks several miles from the main Olympic stadium.
Tightened visa checks have prevented or deterred foreign groups like the Committee to Protect Journalists from going to Beijing, although Dream for Darfur said its visa application was pending.
It also emerged yesterday that Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has written to Gordon Brown, urging him to boycott the Games because of China's "utter failure" to safeguard human rights.
The Prime Minister is due to attend the closing ceremony, but in a letter to him, Mr Clegg said his attendance would be "untenable".
He wrote: "Given the evidence that China has failed to meet the solemn commitments it gave, I believe it is now clear that awarding the Olympic Games to China was a mistake.
China's recent behaviour is a humiliation for the International Olympic Committee, and a salutary reminder to all politicians of the intransigence of the Chinese over human rights and the status of Tibet."
