Here's an interesting article on how the city of Beijing plans to continue the improvement of air quality even after the Olympics: http://english.sina.com/china/p/2008/0928/189001.html.
It's clearly a good sign of sustainability from the government, that everything wasn't just for the show. However, I'll definitely want to see the public reaction, some of what is already expressed in the article. Ultimately their actions will determine if the project is successful or not.
My dad says one reason why democracy is still far from actually happening here is because of the way the Chinese people are wired. There's no single excuse, it's just the way things are done. People look for strong leadership and guidance or they will be as lost as the sheep without their sheperds.
However, there's still hope. The youth here are much more individual and liberal than the old people - to a point even I am surprised - so perhaps slowly, as the generation change takes place, the new way of thinking will be injected into the system.
Inner change will take time. We may not see it in five, ten or even twenty years, despite rapid development on the outside. But perhaps in fifty years, the promises of One World, One Dream will finally come true.
Yes, I finally watched the Olympics opening ceremony, which I missed on the 8th August due to some business I had to take care of. I have to say, though, that I felt so proud after seeing the ceremony. It was an NBC rip with American hosts, but even they admired the show.
By the way, I think I won't be uploading any photos from my National Holiday travels until I get back to Beijing (that's Oct. 5th). I just can't be bothered to set up Internet connection to my laptop.
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