Beijing 'Uninhabitable'? Depends Who You Believe

Oh dear. Beijing is "uninhabitable for human beings," at least according to the South China Morning Post's interpretation of the Shanghai Academy of Social Science's "2013 Global City Competitiveness Report," released Wednesday, ranking China's capital 39th out of 40 cities surveyed.

While we certainly didn't expect a Shanghai institution to say nice things about our fair city, even China Daily used the phrase "unfavorable for human living."  A report from People's Daily Online described the situation as "not optimal." The Global Times called those reports "exaggerated." The Beijinger could not independently verify the wording or translation as the full report is not available online.

Pollution in Beijing has reduced the city's competitiveness against other major cities, both in China and abroad, although Shanghai was also rapped for poor air quality, the reports said. The blue book report also mentioned other factors that reduce competitiveness such as the ability to respond to emergency situations, social disorder, and the "rise" of the internet.

To be fair, while the report totally harshed out on Beijing, Shanghai wasn't presented in all that much rosier a picture, clocking in at number 21 out of 40. Tokyo, London, Paris, New York and Singapore were ranked as the top five. Hong Kong ranked eighth, Beiijing narrowly bested Taipei's 32nd ranking, and coming in last were Buenos Aires, Moscow, Mumbai, Sao Paulo and Johannesburg.

Air quality is having an impact on more than just business and health. Pollution is driving an exodus of upper and middle-class citizens out of China's major cities or even abroad, according to a joint report published by the Center for China and Globalization and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, according to Want China Times. Popular destinations include Dali in Yunnan or Sanya in Hainan, and overseas, the US, UK, and Canada.

Also Wednesday, Canada announced that it was cancelling a visa plan designed to attract high-wealth individuals and families, under which they would guarantee an interest-free loan to the Canadian government of C$800,000 for five years. The move leaves "tens of thousands" of applicants out in the cold, the South China Morning Post reported.

As of this writing, Beijing's air quality index (AQI) is 248 (very unhealthy). Sigh – but not too deeply.

Photo: China Daily