Factories idle to ease Beijing smog

As hazerdous smog still covers much of north and east China, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said, pratical measures must be taken to restrucutre the economy, save energy and cut down on emmisions. He said the government should bring hope to citizens using actions. Now Beijing has launched an emergency response plan to reduce the pollution.

TOTO Beijing is the only big ceramics factory in the capital city. One of its production procedures creates dust pollution. With air pollution escalating in the last several days, the city government has told the factory to cut production... and now stop altogether.

Han Yong, deputy general manager of TOTO, Beijing, said:"On Monday afternoon, we received a notice from the municipal government to cut our production by 15 percent. On Tuesday morning the government issued a stricter notice. All of our production lines were fully suspended by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The noise you are hearing now is just the ventilation."

This is one of the key joint ventures in Beijing, and ceasing production means big losses.

Han Yong said:"Stopping our two plants in Beijing means we lose 1.8 million yuan per day. We still have to pay wages during this period."

TOTO Beijing is only one of a hundred and three high-polluting factories that have completely stopped production since Tuesday. The authorities say they are cutting the use of government vehicles in all departments by 30 percent.

Xing Likai, deputy director of Haidian District Environmental Protection Bureau, said:"We are working closely with other authorities to ensure the emergency plans are carried out during this period."

However, once the smog gets lighter and the alert is lifted, these factories will be back in production again. And they may need to intensify production to make up for their losses. So the problem has not really been solved. Many believe the government will have to do more to cut sources of pollution, because temporary responses are not enough.

Li Nan, CCTV, said:"There have been no more than five days with clear sky in Beijing throughout the whole January. Air quality issues have raised public concern and caused all kinds of damages. As China's vice premier Li Keqiang said earlier this month, China needs to strengthen its enforcement of environmental laws and find more solutions to tackle air pollution."