An opinion article from The Diplomat reports, "As rumors fly that U.S. President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama will both attend the National Prayer Breakfast on February 5, Beijing reiterated its strong opposition to meetings between the exiled spiritual leader and foreign politicians. 'Tibet-related issues bear on China's core interest and national feelings. We are against any country's interference in China's domestic affairs under the pretext of Tibet-related issues, and are opposed to any foreign leader's meeting with the Dalai Lama in any form,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a press conference on Tuesday...The U.S. president historically attends the event as well - meaning Thursday could be the first time Obama and the Dalai Lama have appeared together in public." 

"The air quality in 66 of China's 74 major cities, including the capital Beijing, failed to meet basic standards last year, China's Environment Ministry said, underlining the struggles the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter has in reining in threats to public health and quality of life.The worst-performing cities were in the country's north adjacent to Beijing, with the Hebei province industrial center of Baoding just to the southwest coming in dead last, according to a report published on the ministry website Tuesday...After decades of rising pollution levels, China has begun acknowledging the threat by regularly publishing updates on levels of dangerous PM2.5, tiny particles in the air that at sufficient quantities reduce visibility and increase health risks," reports The Huffington Post.  

According to The New York Times, "A proposal by China that would have withheld the names of countries that criticize nongovernmental organizations at the United Nations has drawn condemnation from diplomats and rights groups, citing concerns about transparency. China made the proposal last week during a session of the United Nations committee that oversees accreditation for nongovernmental organizations to participate in United Nations meetings. At present, the United Nations publishes accounts of committee meetings that include any objections raised by the committee's 19 member states to nongovernmental organizations seeking accreditation. Last Wednesday, however, China moved that the United Nations no longer name individual countries in its reports, participants in the session said. The motion was supported by Cuba, Iran, Russia, Pakistan and Sudan, the participants said. China eventually dropped the proposal, but not before representatives of other countries expressed alarm about the risks to transparency."