CHINA: August 25, 2008


BEIJING - Polluting factories in Beijing ordered to stop work to improve the air quality for the Olympics will have to clean up their operations before being allowed to resume production, state media said on Saturday.


Authorities have ordered dozens of factories to halt or limit their operations and restricted use of cars to cut down on pollution during the Games, leading to the cleanest summer-time air in a decade, according to official statistics.

"If they can't resolve the pollution problems, they should stop or limit their production," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Du Shaozhong, deputy head of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, as saying.

Du did not give details on the criteria the bureau would use to determine whether factories would reopen. City officials would also not have authority over factories in surrounding provinces that were also affected by the Olympic-related shutdowns.

However, the pledge underlines the degree to which the success of the environmental measures could affect policy making beyond the Games.

Du had previously said that authorities would accelerate the removal of polluting vehicles from the roads and take more stringent measures to cut down on dust at construction sites.

"Although the Olympic Games will end soon, the environmental challenges we face are by no means over," he said. (Reporting by Jason Subler; editing by Keith Weir)


REUTERS NEWS SERVICE