In China even the Clouds are a State Secret

An immense cloud of yellow dust originating from the deserts of northern China and Mongolia is in the process of taking its annual trip east, where it will arrive in Japan and South Korea with its toxic cargo.

The yellow dust season that runs from March to May would only be of interest to meteorologists were it not for the fact that its route passes through some of the Chinese regions where wild industrialization is taking place. This means that each day heavy metals and carcinogens (such as dioxin) is released into the air and mixes with the yellow sand.

In addition to furnishing the clouds with a spectral look, this lethal mixture causes various devasting physical effects on human beings.

The damage this poisonous cloud causes range from respiratory difficulties to immune system disorders to eye and vision problems. The South Korean Ministry of the Environment has declared that these sandstorms cause the deaths of up to 165 Koreans and the illness of 1,800,000 every year.

In Busan, the capital of South Korea, the population is advised to keep children home from kindergarten and primary school, while the Taipei government advises people to wear surgical masks and avoid outdoor activities. In Japan the air even turns brown.

Industries are also subjected to serious damage, especially those which produce precision machinery. South Korea estimates industry losses at 5.82 million dollars per year.

The aggressive deforestation in China caused by the raising of livestock and the consequent desertification have amplified this phenomenon: since 2000 a growing increase in the duration, quantity and toxicity of the sand has been recorded.

In January 2008, Japan initiated joint action with the Ministries of the Environment of Mongolia, Japan and South Korea and the Chinese Environmental Ministry. They set up a program of monitored planning to study the quantity and quality of the sand, data and forecasts of storms as well as possible solutions. Beijing was to be the location for the collection of data in China, as it is located on the main pathway of storms.

But just before the start of the program, the newly formed Chinese Ministry of the Environment announced its withdrawl from the program, at the same time communicating that it would no longer provide any more meteorological data as that information is considered "state secret."

Due to the fact that most of the dust and fine particles originate in China, this is expected to render the entire project useless.

Evidently their fear is that the wind will blow on the already burning atmosphere surrounding the Olympic games, worsening the already poisonous air of Beijing for the athletes who will arrive there in August.

Now the Communist hierarchy is even afraid of the wind.

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