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Anti-pollution efforts hailed

BEIJING: International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge lauded China on Thursday for its extraordinary efforts to tackle pollution.

“The Chinese authorities have done everything that is feasible and humanly possible to address this situation. What they have done is extraordinary,” said Mr. Rogge. Beijing has invested billions to improve its environment since it won the Olympics bid, and drastic measures have been implemented to guarantee good air quality, including shutting down construction sites and reducing the operations of polluting industries near Beijing. However, air quality has been a concern for many in the build-up to the Games, and the organisers have been under fire. With Beijing shrouded in a haze just one day before the start of the Olympics, Mr. Rogge snubbed attempts to categorise the air as polluted, stating there is a difference between the haze and pollution. — Xinhua

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