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| Smog Grips China, but Exam Goes on Outdoors | Smog Grips China, but Exam Goes on Outdoors |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BEIJING — As the grimy, gray smog spreading across northern China settled on the town of Linqi, its schools received a “red alert” notice to cancel classes and protect children from the acrid haze. But Linqi No. 1 Middle School decided it would go ahead with exams it holds outside. | |
| On the school’s small sports field, at least 400 children sat or knelt this week in front of stools used as small desks, answering questions about math, English, Chinese and physics. It is common in China to hold exams outdoors, to deter cheating. But in this case, the students were bathed in cold, filthy air so dense that those at the back of the soccer field seemed like ghostly imprints in the air. | On the school’s small sports field, at least 400 children sat or knelt this week in front of stools used as small desks, answering questions about math, English, Chinese and physics. It is common in China to hold exams outdoors, to deter cheating. But in this case, the students were bathed in cold, filthy air so dense that those at the back of the soccer field seemed like ghostly imprints in the air. |
| Photographs of the smog-shrouded testing on Monday spread across the internet in China. The pictures, taken by an irate Linqi resident, drew the attention of the news media and public ire on Wednesday, after days of unusually heavy pollution fell across parts of the country’s north, including Henan Province, which includes Linqi. | |
| The students mostly wore flimsy masks that afford little protection against pollutants, and they quickly came to symbolize the frustration that people express about the smog and the foot-dragging response by some officials. | |
| A reporter from Dahe News, a Henan newspaper that first reported about the exam being held despite the pollution alert, said that he had asked the principal of the Linqi school why students were made to take the test on Monday. | A reporter from Dahe News, a Henan newspaper that first reported about the exam being held despite the pollution alert, said that he had asked the principal of the Linqi school why students were made to take the test on Monday. |
| “All the organization had been done,” the principal, Feng Jisheng, replied, according to the reporter. “So we went ahead with the exam.” | “All the organization had been done,” the principal, Feng Jisheng, replied, according to the reporter. “So we went ahead with the exam.” |
| “At the time, the smog wasn’t bad,” Mr. Feng said, describing it as being more of an icy fog than smog. Dahe News said that Mr. Feng had denied planning to hold exams outdoors on Tuesday, too. | |
| Much of the attention in the latest pollution wave has focused on Beijing, which issued a rare red alert on Friday. But the pictures from Linqi drove home how much other, often ignored, towns and cities must endure. Dozens of places in China have issued red alerts, the highest-level response, which requires schools to send students home. | |
| In Shijiazhuang, a city in the adjacent Hebei Province, the pollution index for PM2.5 — tiny airborne particles of soot and dirt that are especially hazardous to health — hit 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter on Monday. Even then, schools in the city did not suspend classes until a belated official government notice was sent. | In Shijiazhuang, a city in the adjacent Hebei Province, the pollution index for PM2.5 — tiny airborne particles of soot and dirt that are especially hazardous to health — hit 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter on Monday. Even then, schools in the city did not suspend classes until a belated official government notice was sent. |
| The World Health Organization recommends maximum daily exposure of 25 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter. Even at relatively clear times, the levels in many Chinese cities are much higher. On Wednesday, the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection said that 28 cities were under red alert for heavy air pollution, but that the haze and smog would probably start to dissipate on Thursday. | The World Health Organization recommends maximum daily exposure of 25 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter. Even at relatively clear times, the levels in many Chinese cities are much higher. On Wednesday, the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection said that 28 cities were under red alert for heavy air pollution, but that the haze and smog would probably start to dissipate on Thursday. |
| The Chinese government has promised to clean up the air, after public anger swelled in recent years. And there has been progress, although each winter brings bad spells. This year, a resurgence of steel-making and other heavy industry seems to have cut into gains in reducing pollution. | The Chinese government has promised to clean up the air, after public anger swelled in recent years. And there has been progress, although each winter brings bad spells. This year, a resurgence of steel-making and other heavy industry seems to have cut into gains in reducing pollution. |
| Many Chinese people reacted to the melancholy images from Linqi much as they have to the smog: with a mixture of anger and mordant irony. While outdoor testing is often used to make it easier to spot students copying others, or peeking at cheat sheets, some commenters questioned the practice this time. | Many Chinese people reacted to the melancholy images from Linqi much as they have to the smog: with a mixture of anger and mordant irony. While outdoor testing is often used to make it easier to spot students copying others, or peeking at cheat sheets, some commenters questioned the practice this time. |
| “On a day like that, would teachers be able to spot if students brought cheat sheets?” asked one user of Sina Weibo, a popular microblog site that is a bit like Twitter. | |
| “China needs this kind of behavior, right? Because gross domestic product is more important than ordinary folks’ health,” another commented. | “China needs this kind of behavior, right? Because gross domestic product is more important than ordinary folks’ health,” another commented. |
| The Chinese government often tries to mollify public anger by suspending or firing officials, even when the rights and wrongs of a case are unclear. Mr. Feng, for example, was suspended as principal on Wednesday. | The Chinese government often tries to mollify public anger by suspending or firing officials, even when the rights and wrongs of a case are unclear. Mr. Feng, for example, was suspended as principal on Wednesday. |
| Calls to the school went unanswered on Wednesday, but an official in the local education bureau confirmed Mr. Feng’s suspension. | Calls to the school went unanswered on Wednesday, but an official in the local education bureau confirmed Mr. Feng’s suspension. |
| “He didn’t follow our notice to suspend classes at school,” said the official, who gave only his surname, Zhang. “Our notice said all school activities must be suspended from noon on Dec. 19 until the day the red alert is gone.” | “He didn’t follow our notice to suspend classes at school,” said the official, who gave only his surname, Zhang. “Our notice said all school activities must be suspended from noon on Dec. 19 until the day the red alert is gone.” |
| Still, the students who endured the outdoor exams do not have to worry too much about the results. The Dahe News reporter said he had asked Mr. Feng why the exams were so pressing. | |
| It was just a test to see how the students were progressing, Mr. Feng replied, according to the report. “It wasn’t that urgent.” | It was just a test to see how the students were progressing, Mr. Feng replied, according to the report. “It wasn’t that urgent.” |