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Beijing air 'safe for athletes' Beijing air 'safe for athletes'
(about 1 hour later)
Beijing's air quality poses no risk to athletes' health, Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, has told reporters.Beijing's air quality poses no risk to athletes' health, Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, has told reporters.
One day before the opening ceremony of the Games, Mr Rogge said proper checks were in place to protect competitors. Mr Rogge said checks were in place to protect competitors amid persistent concerns about poor air quality.
There have been persistent concerns about the effect of the poor quality of Beijing's air on Olympic athletes. He was speaking as dignitaries from around the world gathered in China's capital for Friday's opening ceremony.
In separate remarks, US President George Bush expressed "deep concerns" over China's human rights record. Among them is US President George Bush, who earlier expressed "deep concerns" about Beijing's human rights record.
Speaking in the Thai capital, Bangkok, before travelling to the Games, Mr Bush praised China's economy but said only respect for human rights would let it realise its full potential.Speaking in the Thai capital, Bangkok, before travelling to the Games, Mr Bush praised China's economy but said only respect for human rights would let it realise its full potential.
'No danger' China later rejected Mr Bush's criticisms as "interference" in its internal affairs.
A BBC reading on Thursday suggested Beijing's air quality was far below World Health Organisation (WHO) standards. Air target missed
It put levels of particulate matter (PM10) at 191 micrograms per cubic metre. class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7498198.stm">Beijing pollution: Facts and figures class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7506925.stm">In pictures: Pollution-watch class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7545344.stm">Have the Games changed China? A day before the Games, a BBC reading suggested Beijing's air quality was far below World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.
This far exceeds the WHO target of 50 micrograms/cubic metre, and also exceeds the WHO target for developing countries of 150 micrograms/cubic metre. It put levels of particulate matter (PM10) at 191 micrograms per cubic metre. This far exceeds the WHO target of 50 micrograms/cubic metre, and also exceeds the WHO target for developing countries of 150 micrograms/cubic metre. class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7498198.stm">Beijing pollution: Facts and figures class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7506925.stm">In pictures: Pollution-watch class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7545344.stm">Have the Games changed China?
But Mr Rogge insisted there was no threat to Olympic competitors.But Mr Rogge insisted there was no threat to Olympic competitors.
"Of course we prefer clear skies, but the most important thing is that the health of the athletes is protected," Mr Rogge said in the news conference."Of course we prefer clear skies, but the most important thing is that the health of the athletes is protected," Mr Rogge said in the news conference.
He said there was "absolutely no danger" to the health of athletes taking part in events that last less than one hour. He said there was "absolutely no danger" to the health of athletes taking part in events that last less than one hour. But he said if the pollution was bad, events which lasted more than that could be shifted or postponed.
But he said if the pollution was bad, events which lasted more than one hour could be shifted or postponed.
Detailed 72-hour forecasting services provided to Olympic authorities would allow events to be moved according to climatic conditions, he added.
Mr Rogge urged reporters to distinguish between fog and pollution - a point, correspondents say, often made by Chinese authorities.Mr Rogge urged reporters to distinguish between fog and pollution - a point, correspondents say, often made by Chinese authorities.
"The fog, you see, is based on the basis of humidity and heat. It does not mean that this fog is the same as pollution," he said."The fog, you see, is based on the basis of humidity and heat. It does not mean that this fog is the same as pollution," he said.
And he praised China's efforts to clean up the air around Beijing - including taking hundreds of thousands of cars off the road and introducing other traffic restrictions, changing factory fuels, and moving very polluting plants far away from the capital. And he praised China's efforts to clean up the air around Beijing - efforts, he said, which would "continue and have a lasting influence on the climate of Beijing".
These efforts would "continue and have a lasting influence on the climate of Beijing", Mr Rogge promised. Separately, Mr Rogge said athletes would be prevented from making any political statement or protest in official venues - in accordance with Rule 51 of the Olympic charter, which forbids athletes from making political, religious, commercial or racial propaganda.
'America's opposition' But he said they were free to do this in protest areas provided by Chinese authorities, and that "common sense" would be used to judge violations.
President Bush made his criticisms of China's human rights record in Bangkok, a stop on his final trip to Asia before he leaves office in January. China defence
George Bush urges China to improve its human rights records Earlier in the day, the Olympic torch began making its last stops on a journey that has seen it pass through five continents. America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists President Bush class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7546376.stm">Bush chides Beijing over rights class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7544851.stm">In pictures: Torch at Great Wall
"The US believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings," he said. Patriotic crowds lined the mist-shrouded Great Wall waving fans and cheering, while streams of confetti shot into the air as the torch was lit from the Olympic flame.
Mr Bush said he was optimistic about China's future and said change in China would arrive "on its own terms". The torch, while welcomed in many nations, has also been a magnet for protesters critical of China's respect for rights.
But his criticisms were clear. Mr Bush hit out at China's "detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists" before he arrived in China for the opening ceremony.
"America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists," he said. But China offered a robust defence of its record in response, insisting it "put its people first".
Critics say China has failed to live up to promised improvements in its rights record made when it was awarded the Games.
In other developments:In other developments:
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  • Cheering crowds watched the Olympic torch being paraded along a misty Great Wall
  • The two Koreas will not march together at the opening ceremony, a reversal on the last two Olympic Games
  • Tibetan groups have held large protests in both India and Nepal on the eve of the Games
  • China has selected basketball star Yao Ming to carry the national flag in the opening ceremony.
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    • The two Koreas said they would not march together at the opening ceremony, a reversal on the last two Olympic Games
    • Tibetan groups have held large protests in both India and Nepal on the eve of the Games
    • China has selected basketball star Yao Ming to carry the national flag in the opening ceremony.