Beijing's Temporary Clean Air Policies May Stick

"Some temporary measures brought in to tackle pollution in Beijing during the Olympic Games are set to become permanent, in a bid to address continuing environmental challenges, despite the recent improvement in air quality, an official said Saturday."

"The removal and treatment of heavy-polluting vehicles will be accelerated and plans to reduce construction site dust will be stepped up, Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing environmental protection bureau, told a news conference."

"The city will also require heavily-polluting companies to address their pollution problems as a prerequisite to resuming operations after the Games, he said."

"'If they can't resolve the pollution problems, they must stop or limit their production,' he said."

"But Wang Li, deputy director of the city's traffic administrative bureau, told the conference that as of yet there are no plans to continue with the odd-even license plate restriction once the Olympics has finished, despite its success in cutting pollution and calls for the continuation of the measure."