"People are powerless against the weather, but not against the discharge of pollution. You can't always blame the weather for the pollution."

Song Guojun, a professor at Renmin University of China's School of Environment and Natural Resources, saying that the government must act promptly to control pollution in Beijing. The density of PM2.5 reached 400 micrograms per cubic meter on May 6, well above national and international standards, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center said. The center cited rising temperatures, lack of wind and other unfavorable conditions as reasons for the pollution.

"If the life expectancy of the bridges a nation builds is only 20 years, that suggests it looks ahead only 20 years. At present, the importance of foresight to China is like that of a cloud to a severe drought."

Liu Zhenyun, a writer, saying that China needs to match its prosperity with more forward thinking. Liu made the remarks during a lecture titled "Chinese Steamed Roll and Western Bread" at New York University on May 3, as part of his thoughts on Chinese and Western culture and literature.

"Zhu Ling's case falls within China's jurisdiction, and I object to the use of these channels to ask a foreign power to intervene in Chinese domestic justice."

Zhang Jie, lawyer for Zhu Ling, the victim of an unsolved case of poisoning nearly two decades ago, saying after a petition posted on the White House website named a suspect and called for her to be extradited to China.

(China Daily 05/10/2013 page2)