The Hong Kong
Jockey Club
Protestor re: Tibet, dragged off. The two sites for the
Hong Kong events — one for cross-country
riding and the other for dressage and show jumping — are close to sea
level. Although mornings and evenings are somewhat cooler and less
humid than midday, the difference is smaller than in American cities
like Atlanta, Jeffcott said. NOTE: "About Town" understands
that latitute in H.K. is like...Havana!
Other
activities in Hong Kong...big interest in this from UI.
Live news from I-BBC - click the bird!
Breaking
News: Two pro-Tibet demonstrators are removed from the
equestrian arena during the dressage event in Hong Kong. And read
of "re-education" of those who applied
for permits to protest...in one case, sounds like Chinese urban renewal!
Americans win team equestrian jumping
gold
DAY
Published on 8/18/2008
Hong Kong (AP)— The U.S. has won the gold medal today in Olympic
equestrian team jumping, knocking out Canada, which has taken silver.
Norway has won the bronze.
The U.S. got clear rounds from their first three riders in the
jump-off. One Canadian rider knocked down a fence, and since Canada
only had three riders to the Americans’ four, that clinched the U.S.
gold.
The U.S. also won team jumping in 2004 in Athens and has two returning
combinations on the 2008 team, McLain Ward on Sapphire and Beezie
Madden on Authentic.
Ian Millar, riding in his ninth Olympics, forced the jump-off with a
clear round on In Style. The team silver is Millar’s first Olympic
medal.
Hong Kong Warns of Strong Storm Ahead
of Games
NYTIMES
By KEITH BRADSHER
Published: August 5, 2008
HONG KONG — The Hong Kong Observatory, the local government’s
meteorological agency, on Monday issued an early warning of a strong
storm arriving in the days before the Olympic equestrian events start
here.
After a tropical depression formed nearby over the weekend in the warm
waters of the South China Sea, the observatory forecast that it would
soon strengthen into a tropical storm. The observatory meteorologists
forecast that it would pass about 50 miles south of Hong Kong on
Wednesday morning, with wind speeds of 52 miles an hour.
The storm is expected to pass even closer to Macau, a former Portuguese
colony 40 miles southwest of Hong Kong that is being used by many
Olympic teams as a staging area before sending athletes to smoggy
Beijing. While the United States basketball team has already left
Macau, as previously scheduled, the British and other teams still have
athletes there.
The slow-moving storm, which has not yet been given a name, is forecast
to move well into southernmost China by Thursday morning, two days
before the first of six Olympic equestrian events begins in Hong Kong
on Saturday morning. The storm is not likely to affect the opening
ceremonies in Beijing on Friday evening.
All six Olympic equestrian events are being held in Hong Kong because
mainland China was not able to satisfy international veterinary
authorities that it could prevent valuable Olympic horses from being
exposed to equine influenza and other livestock diseases.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued hourly bulletins on the tropical
depression Monday, in what could become a training exercise for how
Hong Kong would respond if a full-fledged typhoon, and not just a
tropical storm, arrived during the Olympics. An elaborate drainage
system has been installed at the main Olympic venue for dressage and
show jumping. Drainage has also been improved at the cross country
venue, a modified golf course scheduled to be used next Monday.
When 16 inches of rain fell in two days in June, the equestrian course
there remained usable, although the rest of the site became muddy, said
Dr. Leo Jeffcott, the senior international veterinarian for the Hong
Kong events. “We could have run the horses around, but the spectators
would have been in a bit of a mess, and the officials,” he said in an
interview last week.
Lam Woon-Kwong, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Equestrian
Company, which was set up to manage the Olympic events here, said at a
news conference Monday that if any events are postponed, they might be
rescheduled, but possibly without spectators, as it would be difficult
to arrange on short notice. The equestrian events are scheduled to be
held from Aug. 9 to 21. That leaves two days, Aug. 22 and 23, before
the closing ceremonies in Beijing in case a typhoon forces a suspension
of equestrian events in Hong Kong.
Pollution curbs turn Beijing into urban laboratory
NYTIMES
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 3, 2008
Filed at 10:21 a.m. ET
BEIJING (AP) -- Like everything else done for the Olympics, China's
quest to clear up notoriously polluted skies in time for opening
ceremonies this week has been marked by gargantuan effort.
In what scientists are calling the single largest attempt ever made to
improve air quality, scores of heavily polluting factories were shut
down and some 2 million vehicles were pulled off roads across Beijing
and a huge swath of northern China -- an area roughly the size of
Alaska. During the weekend, the hazy skies finally gave way to swirling
blue.
Beijing's massive experiment with controlling pollution is offering
international researchers a one-of-a-kind chance to study the
large-scale effort in a uniquely urban laboratory.
''It has never been done before. I doubt it will be repeated. This is
it. We've got a golden opportunity to fast-forward our research,'' said
Veerabhadran Ramanathan, an atmospheric scientist from the University
of California, San Diego, who is part of a multinational research
project to track Beijing's pollution during and after the Olympics
using unmanned drones, satellite data and ground-level readings.
He is one of dozens of scientists from around the world who are
gathering in and around China to conduct experiments ranging from
monitoring how pollution travels across continents to sampling
particulate pollution over time to testing the impact of dirty air on
cardiovascular functions.
Ramanathan said he first learned about China's plans to restrict cars
and shut down factories last year from reading a newspaper article. As
a scientist who studies pollution clouds over Asia, known as
atmospheric brown clouds, he was thrilled to hear that China planned to
cut back on pollution in a major way; in essence, conducting
large-scale experiments he could observe.
''I immediately jumped off my seat. I thought, this is what I've been
waiting for. I said, 'Thank God for the Olympics.' For me, this is 10
times better than winning the lottery,'' he said.
The Associated Press has been compiling its own pollution data since
mid-July, recording snapshot readings of Beijing's worst pollutant --
tiny dust particles known as particulate matter 10 -- using a
commercially available handheld monitoring device.
With China's polluted air ending up over Korea or landing in
California, the data being collected now may have larger ramifications
beyond these games. If China's efforts can be shown to have had a major
impact, then other countries could consider taking similar actions.
Whether its current efforts actually result in clear skies for the
Summer Games remains to be seen. Since the factory closures and traffic
restrictions kicked in on July 20, Beijing's air pollution levels have
gone up and down, though the general trend is decreasing.
What is increasingly clear is how much of a role meteorological
conditions play in cutting down pollution.
''If Mother Nature cooperates, I expect there would be an impact. But
it all depends on the wind directions,'' Veerabhadran said.
In the past two weeks, four days failed to meet the national air
quality standard, with pollution levels classified as unhealthy for
sensitive groups. On those days, the capital was cloaked in sweltering
temperatures and a thick, grayish haze that reduced skyscrapers to
ghostly outlines.
But strong winds and rainfall in the last week helped scatter much of
the smog, giving Beijing residents a rare spate of sunshine and blue
sky over the weekend. The air pollution index showed a decrease in
pollutants, dropping to a level considered healthy by the World Health
Organization.
The pollution levels are similar to findings that the Associated Press
collected. Last Friday marked the clearest change visually, with the
persistent haze giving way to clear skies and the lowest recorded air
pollution levels. The AP's data showed that Beijing had lower levels of
particulate matter than New York City on that day.
From a researcher's point of view, China's attempts to ensure blue
skies for the Olympics are of huge scientific interest, said Staci
Simonich, an associate professor of chemistry and toxicology at Oregon
State University.
''It's a giant science experiment on air pollution. As far as I know,
it's the biggest case where a city that had air quality problems took
strong measures to improve air quality. They've taken it very
seriously. It's exciting from a science standpoint,'' said Simonich,
who is collaborating with Peking University professors to take samples
of particulate matter.
Though Los Angeles and Atlanta both took measures to improve their air
quality when they hosted the Olympics, neither city has had the same
obstacles as the Chinese capital. ''They didn't have to go to quite the
extremes that Beijing has. Beijing has had to come a long way further
than L.A. or Atlanta,'' she said.
If it can be proven that China's efforts made a major impact, then
other countries may consider taking similar environmental actions, she
said.
''It's not just about China. It's about megacities across the world.
What's learned here can perhaps be applied to other cities,'' Simonich
said.
Other scientists chose to focus on the health impact of the dirty air,
a huge concern that was raised earlier by Olympic athletes. Several
countries, including the U.S., has already said they will provide their
athletes with an air mask that they have the option of using.
Qinghua Sun, an assistant professor at Ohio State University's College
of Public Health, is working with two Chinese universities to collect
data on the mechanics of how air pollution affects human health,
especially cardiovascular diseases.
Sun, who will be conducting experiments on both mice and humans, said
he is looking specifically at the impact of ultrafine particles, known
as PM 2.5., on diabetic patients since preliminary data has shown that
there is a clear link between cardiovascular disease and PM 2.5
''Hopefully, with our data, China can see the need to take a dramatic
policy strategy to continue the good policies they conducted during the
Games,'' he said.
In the Hong Kong Heat, Steps to
Protect the Horses
By KEITH BRADSHER
Published: August 3, 2008
HONG KONG — Many horse enthusiasts try to beat the summer heat by going
for a ride at dawn or sunset, but the Olympic equestrian events here
from next Saturday to Aug. 21 will take this to an extreme.
The events will start as early as 6:30 in the morning and end by late
morning, or begin as late as 10:45 at night. The goal is to make sure
that horses and riders are not exposed to the midday heat and humidity
of Hong Kong, one of the most tropical places to host an Olympic event.
Hong Kong is slightly farther south than Havana and is nearly
surrounded by the tropical waters of the South China Sea. That makes it
humid, with considerably higher humidity on summer afternoons than hot
and sticky Atlanta, the site of the 1996 Olympics and previously the
toughest climate faced by Olympic equestrian teams.
The humidity is a particular challenge because horses, like humans,
keep cool as their perspiration evaporates. The evaporation,
particularly crucial for the arduous cross-country ride over jumps,
happens more slowly on steamy days.
“The horses are much more able to manage conditions of hot and dry than
hot and humid,” said Dr. Leo Jeffcott, the senior international
veterinarian for the Hong Kong events and a veterinary adviser to every
Summer Games since the Seoul Olympics in 1988 in South Korea.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club, which manages the city’s racetracks and
donated the Olympic facilities, starts its racing season in early
September and occasionally has trouble with heat. Each season, the club
runs about 700 races, with about four or five horses showing
unsteadiness or other heat-related difficulties, said Dr. Chris Riggs,
the club’s top veterinarian and veterinary services manager for the
Olympics.
Once every season or two, a horse collapses from the heat, he said. But
the horses are quickly revived and do not develop long-term health
problems from the collapse.
To cope with the climate, Olympic organizers and the 42 national
equestrian teams competing are taking a lot of precautions.
Enlarged golf carts have been fitted with portable generators, hoses
and bathtub-size red plastic tanks full of cold water, ready to be
driven straight to overheated horses in need of a quick dousing.
Rows of powerful fans fitted with water valves have been set up to
spray the horses before and after they compete. And the stables not
only have air-conditioning, but also fans that blow curtains of cold
air across the entrances to keep the hot air outside.
Horses suffer much less from heat if they spend each night in a cool
place, said Dr. Jill Beech, a professor of veterinary medicine at the
University of Pennsylvania.
The United States team is taking additional precautions. It has devices
designed to spray a horse with cold water and wipe the water off, as
well as special blankets that can be filled with cold water, said James
Wolf, the team manager.
Many American riders and their mounts have trained in Florida and
learned to compete in hot, humid conditions, he added.
Officials from Beijing, a city at the same latitude as Philadelphia,
lobbied successfully in 2001 to hold the 2008 Olympics. They did not
plan to hold any events in Hong Kong, which Britain returned to Chinese
rule in 1997.
But China was forced to move all six equestrian events after
international veterinary groups declined three years ago to certify
Beijing as free of equine diseases. If the equestrian events were held
in Beijing, the horses would be forced to endure lengthy quarantines
upon leaving China.
Hong Kong has the necessary certification, as well as lavish,
state-of-the-art facilities. The Hong Kong Jockey Club has a legal
monopoly on gambling, and it spends whatever money it needs to run
horse races and other events, donating the rest to charity.
As a result, the Olympic horses will have immediate access to one of
the world’s top equine hospitals and one of the world’s handful of
equine drug-testing laboratories. “Without a doubt, these are the best
facilities we’ve been given to run the Olympics,” Jeffcott said.
The Olympics have been held closer to the equator. In 1968 the host was
Mexico City, which is at an altitude of almost 7,400 feet and quite dry.
The temperatures hit 97 on Monday afternoon when a typhoon was passing
to the north, but another problem caught more attention. The air
pollution was the worst ever recorded in Hong Kong. The city is
bedeviled by ever-worsening smog from thousands of new factories within
a 50-mile radius in mainland China.
An unusual surge in ground-level ozone pollution was particularly
responsible for last Monday’s high pollution readings. Researchers
elsewhere have been able to document some effects in horses from
exposure to high levels of ground-level ozone.
“If you increase the level of ozone, you will get some changes in the
lungs,” Jeffcott said, adding that he had tracked Monday’s pollution
spike closely. “If it went on the way it was going, we’d obviously be
concerned.”
On Tuesday the typhoon pulled away and fresh breezes dispersed the
pollution. But these horses are extremely fit and unlikely to sustain
lasting harm from temporary exposure to high levels of pollution,
Jeffcott said.
Over the course of a year, Beijing typically has about one-third more
tiny pollution particles in the air than Hong Kong, said Alexis Lau, an
atmospheric scientist at Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology. Each city has more than double the particle levels allowed
by United States regulations.
Beijing does not release data on ground-level ozone, and there is no
reliable way to estimate whether Hong Kong or Beijing has more of this
pollutant, Lau said.
Some of the world’s newest research into the effects of heavy smog on
horses has been done by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The club has found
no correlation between air pollution and horses’ times in races, Riggs
said.
The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the main trade group
representing the Hong Kong-based employers of 11 million workers in
nearby mainland cities, said that it was not aware of any request from
Chinese authorities for factories near Hong Kong to close or cut back
production during the Olympics. But in Beijing’s environs, many
factories have been forced to close.
At each of the past two Summer Games, a horse has been injured and had
to be destroyed. There has been periodic talk of eliminating equestrian
events from the Olympics, although that has not surfaced recently as a
serious threat. The Games coincide this year with controversy over a
recent spate of deaths and severe injuries among riders around the
world.
Lovers of equestrian events are keeping their fingers crossed for an
injury-free Olympics to improve the sport’s image. Gina Miles, a member
of the United States team, said she had been delighted that torrents of
cooling rain fell during a practice event here last summer.
“We’re just hoping for that again,” she said. “We really need this to
be a positive, safe event.”