With the all the recent news about the tainted dog food, lead-contaminated paint, slack security measures for exports, lack of quality control, jaw-dropping statistics, etc.; I've come to think that the '08 Olympics is simply a disaster in the making.
Yes, China is indeed trying to clean up their act (they did execute the health minister, and the ceo of the company that mattel outsourced to manufacture their products committed suicide) and building magnificent structures and touting new, stricter environmental policies, but the thing really comes down to the health factor.
Can the thousands/millions of athletes that descend to Beijing for the Olympics be guaranteed safe conditions? Already in multiple newspapers (NYT, Times, etc.) articles have been published now and quite a while ago citing that Beijing lacks quality fresh drinking water. The Chinese government is pouring billions into funding a canal to the already polluted beyond compare Yellow River in a desperate attempt to channel drinking water to the capital. According to the NYT "500 million lack access to safe drinking water." If the Chinese government cannot ensure that their own people cannot have access the most basic necessity, how can they provide QUALITY food and accommodations for the millions of international athletes?
"Environmental woes that might be considered catastrophic in some countries can seem commonplace in China: industrial cities where people rarely see the sun; children killed or sickened by lead poisoning or other types of local pollution; a coastline so swamped by algal red tides that large sections of the ocean no longer sustain marine life."
The most disturbing statistic is simply the ever degrading quality of air. Beijing's air quality is the 2nd worst in the worlds', with Cairo having the worst. According to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, Beijing’s average PM level was 141 (40 PM is considered safe in the EU, and 50 PM here in the USA).
Frankly after reading all the news reports, I believe that the '08 Olympics is a disaster in the making. Lest a miracle that will suddenly fix all the wrongdoings occurs, I predict something will go terribly wrong at the 2008 Olympics.
We cannot deny that China is a growing dragon. But, can the Chinese themselves control their dragon?
*Note: Statistics have been gathered from various online newspapers and magazines*
Edited by Beta9, 26 August 2007 - 07:24.