Guangdong's provincial capital has adopted an iron-fisted policy in dealing with heavily polluting factories.

The city has shut down more than 100 polluting factories since May, when the municipal environmental protection bureau and supervision bureau jointly urged 146 such firms in eight districts or counties to reduce emissions by the end of October.

The scale of the blacklist is unprecedented in China.

Zheng Zewen, a division director of the municipal environmental watchdog, believed the policy to be effective.

"Most of the enterprises have reduced emissions as expected," he said on Monday. "The deadline is drawing near; we will carry out the policy by the book.

"For the few that refuse to make rectifications, we will resort to legal and administrative measures."

The Southern Metropolis Daily on Monday quoted Ding Hong, director of the municipal environmental watchdog, as saying: "In those districts or counties that allow any of the 146 blacklisted polluting factories to continue operating, we will restrict or suspend new production projects there."

Xie Baohuai, director of the supervision bureau, was quoted as saying: "Relevant officials in those districts or counties will be punished if the blacklisted factories are more or less the same by the end of this month."

The environmental protection bureau teamed up with the municipal supervision bureau in May to resolve the issue of polluting factories to curb emissions.

The environmental protection bureau has been tackling enterprises' emissions, while the supervision bureau has been working to sniff out any government officials who tolerate polluting firms.

The blacklisted factories are mostly those against which complaints have been lodged or those located near drinking water sources.

Peng Peng, a researcher with Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, lauded the city authorities' get-tough stance.

"Guangzhou hopes to become an ideal city for living and doing business; greater importance must be attached to environmental protection," the expert said.

"Guangzhou need not sacrifice the environment for economic development."

Peng said tougher pollution-curbing measures will also be good for the city's hosting of the 2010 Asian Games.

(China Daily October 7, 2008)