EDUARDO PORTER: In preparation for the Olympics, Beijing’s Capital Ethics Development Office also suggested that people not wear more than three colors, avoid spitting or wearing pajamas in public and never ask foreigners about their age, marital status, income, religion or politics.
The Chinese government is not just telling people what to do. In a sign of self-confidence — or self-consciousness — rarely seen on this side of the science fiction frontier, officials have made plans to manage the weather by deploying anti-aircraft guns and planes to shoot at clouds drifting around the capital. Yet despite China’s track record of controlling its people, it’s having a harder time making the elements behave. Shooting silver iodide into clouds encourages lighter droplets to form heavy drops that fall to the ground as rain. Other substances can stop big drops from forming. The Chinese, who have spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the years on artificial rain schemes, have mulled seeding ominous-looking clouds to either avoid rain or force it down before clouds drift over important venues, like the Olympic stadium on Aug. 8, when the opening ceremony will be held. |
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