Beijing was again shrouded in heavy smog on Friday, which hit "serious pollution" level, just one level short of the worst. It is at least the fourth round of polluted air days in October. The surrounding areas in Hebei Province are no better.

Complaints and mockery have spread on the Internet and grown stronger than before, as the city government has been unleashing a series of restrictive measures in a bid to reduce the pollution during the coming APEC summit.

Like a mirror, the APEC summit is due to reflect China's embarrassment caused by the stubborn smog and how difficult it will be to drive away this specter in the long term.

The restrictive measures, such as allowing only half the automobiles on the roads each day and ordering some factories to suspend production during the summit, are all temporary. Even if Beijing does see clear skies in those days, the cost is high, and the good days unsustainable.

The attempt to try all means just to please foreigners will certainly become a target of criticism. And the government may have to listen. Everyone is upset about the smog. Although some are aware the government is not to blame for everything, but who else should the angry public turn their fury toward?

Some wrote online complaining that the government didn't restrict cars and shut down factories to deal with air pollution earlier. This is a ridiculous argument. How can the workers make a living if all the factories are shut down? If all the cars are forbidden, the car owners will all resist.

China must find a way to clean up the sky while keeping the factories and cars running.

This is the hardest part. China have been generating more electric power than the US does since 2011.

The number of cars in China has also been catching up with that of the US. However, because of the much larger population, it will still take years for Chinese to reach the living standards of Americans.

Another problem is that China's industry is much less efficient than the US at pollution control, which results in growing pollution pressures.

Apparently, we cannot suffocate ourselves just to make more money. We are facing a difficult choice on our development path. The burden is not only on the back of the government, but also on all members of society.

Smog is a warning to China's rough mode of modernization. But it does not mean the end of China's fast development and endeavors to realize the Chinese dream.

We must take action to prevent the harm brought by air pollution, and we should not be beaten by smog.