Oh, how beautiful the autumn sky is and how fresh the air is!
This is how most Beijingers feel these days.
"I hope the APEC blue will remain, and I believe, through the efforts we continue to make, it will."
This was President Xi Jinping's response to the sarcastic comments being made about the lovely blue sky Beijing has enjoyed during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation week.
He made the remark when he delivered a speech at a welcome dinner for the APEC leaders on Monday.
Xi said it was the efforts of some localities and departments that had resulted in the current clear days and fresh air in the capital, and he thanked all the participants at the meeting, saying it had prompted China to show stronger resolve and greater efforts in protecting the ecology.
It will make the Chinese government do a better job in protecting the ecological environment in the future, Xi said.
Indeed, without the measures, such as the suspension of production by factories in neighboring cities and cutting the number of motor vehicles on road by half in Beijing and neighboring cities, it can be questioned whether Beijingers would have seen blue sky on so many consecutive days.
Those who drive have also appreciated the lack of congestion on the Third and Fourth ring roads and even some downtown streets.
It was perhaps inevitable that a term such as APEC blue would emerge to describe the crystal clear blue sky that is such a rare sight in the capital on so many days in a row.
Yet despite the irony and sarcasm expressed with this phrase, most people in the city are in a good mood thanks to the beautiful sky. And behind the irony and sarcasm is the wish that this will continue.
However, it is likely to change after the APEC meeting when most of the factories in neighboring cities will resume production and the car restriction measure will no longer be in operation. Particularly since winter has come, and the weather conditions on most days will not be conducive to dispersing smog.
But don't be pessimistic. There is reason for optimism.
The efforts taken to ensure Beijing has had clear days and clean air for the APEC Economic Leaders' Week will not be made in vain. They have increased Chinese leaders' and its people's awareness about environmental protection. And they will further consolidate the Chinese leaders' resolve to protect the ecological environment.
In the same speech, Xi told APEC guests that China is making great efforts to deal with environmental pollution, and the magnitude of its efforts is unprece-dented. Xi said that he hopes that Beijing and other parts of the country will have blue sky, green mountains and clean rivers forever.
He means it. He has emphasized time and again on different occasions that economic growth cannot be gauged by gross domestic product only. The transformation of China's economic growth mode also requires that the efficiency of energy consumption must be raised considerably and the discharge of pollutants more effectively curbed, which will also make the country's economic development more sustainable.
In addition, Chinese people's growing awareness about environmental protection will make it a reality that a local government not paying enough attention to environmental protection or providing shelter in one way or another for polluting industries will be at odds with the will of the general public.
Beijing's neighboring Hebei province, the country's largest producer of iron and cement, and as a result its most polluted province, started to tear down polluting iron and steel and cement plants last year, and it will try to meet the target of reducing the emissions of sulfur dioxide by 179,500 tons, nitrogen oxides by 316,900 tons and dust by 7,200 tons by June 2015.
Cities in North China's Shanxi province, which were some of the country's and even the world's most polluted until recently, have taken on a new look by demolishing coking plants and reducing pollution from coal mines, which speaks volumes about what the country can do to reverse its serious environmental pollution.
Calling clear sky APEC blue will not just serve as a satirical reminder of what the government has brought about with the special temporary measures introduced for this gathering of regional leaders. It will also function as a stimulus for the government to make more effective efforts to tackle environmental pollution.
Against such a background, Xi's acknowledgment of the satire and his promise that APEC blue will return and last forever through continued efforts should be the source of optimism for both Beijing and the rest of the country.
The author is a senior writer with China Daily. zhuyuan@chinadaily.com.cn
