Embassy air monitor angers Beijing

BEIJING has demanded that foreign embassies cease issuing air pollution readings in the city, saying it was against the law and diplomatic conventions, in pointed criticism of a closely watched US embassy index.

The level of air pollution in China’s heaving capital varies, depending on the wind, but a cocktail of smokestack emissions, vehicle exhaust, dust and aerosols often blankets the city in a pungent, beige shroud for days on end.

Many residents dismiss the common official readings of “slight” pollution in Beijing as grossly under-stated.

The US embassy has installed a monitoring point on its roof, which releases hourly air-quality data via a widely followed Twitter feed. The American consulates in Shanghai and the southern city of Guangzhou provide a similar service.

While China tightened air pollution monitoring standards in January, the official reading and the US embassy reading can often be far apart.

Chinese experts have criticised the single American monitoring point as “unscientific”.

Deputy environment minister Wu Xiaoqing yesterday went a step further, saying such readings were illegal and should stop, though he did not directly name the United States.

“According to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, foreign diplomats are required to respect and follow local laws and cannot interfere in internal affairs,” Mr Wu told a news conference.

“China’s air quality monitoring and information release involve the public interest and are up to the government.

“Foreign consulates in China taking it on themselves to monitor air quality and release the information online not only goes against the spirit of the Vienna Convention, it also contravenes relevant environmental protection rules.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin called on foreign diplomatic missions to respect China’s laws and regulations and to stop issuing the readings, “especially over the internet”. Mr Liu told reporters: “If the foreign embassies want to collect this kind of information for their own staff and diplomats, I think it’s up to them.

“They can’t release this information to the outside world.”

The American embassy acknowledged on its website that its equipment could not be relied upon for general monitoring, saying that “city-wide analysis cannot be done on data from a lone machine”.

Despite his criticism, Mr Wu acknowledged that China’s air quality and overall environmental situation remained precarious, with more than a tenth of monitored rivers rated severely polluted, for example.

“What needs saving is the country’s air quality, not the government’s face,” said Zhou Rong, an energy campaigner for Greenpeace.

“The environmental authorities must stop finger-pointing and start taking actions that really address the issue.”