More than 1,500 factories in southern China had been closed down in the past 
three years due to the pollution and environmental hazards they posed. 
The clampdown was part of Guangdong province's measures 
to combat worsening pollution in the booming Pearl River Delta manufacturing 
region and neighbouring Hong Kong, said Guangdong Environmental Protection 
Bureau director Li Qing. 
 
 
 ![A power plant on the outskirts of Zhangjiakou. More than 1,500 factories in southern China had been closed down in the past three years due to the pollution and environmental hazards they posed.[AFP/file]](xin_24080301085542414231.jpg)  A power plant on the outskirts of Zhangjiakou. 
 More than 1,500 factories in southern China had been closed down in the 
 past three years due to the pollution and environmental hazards they 
 posed.[AFP/file] | 
 
 
 
More than 1,500 factories had been shut down after checks were made on 
110,000 companies, he said. 
Most of the affected businesses were cement and power plants, some of which 
were Hong Kong-owned, he was cited by Hong Kong's RTHK radio as saying. 
Li said more measures were in place to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide 
from power plants in the next few years. 
His comments came before Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang was due to 
attend the Hong Kong-Guangdong Co-operation Joint Conference in Guangdong on 
Wednesday. 
Ways to tackle rising pollution are expected to be high on the agenda of 
their discussions. 
The talks are the latest effort from Tsang, who recently urged Hong Kong 
citizens to reduce electricity usage in order to cut emissions from power 
stations, in his battle to clean up the city's air. 
Air quality has deteriorated in Hong Kong so much that smog reduced 
visibility to less than a kilometer (about half a mile) on more than 50 days 
last year, a record in this southern Chinese territory. 
Companies say they are finding it hard to attract executives from overseas 
because of the pollution problem, and the travel industry says tourists are 
increasingly suffering smog-related health problems. 
The government says the problem is mostly the result of the industrialisation 
of the neighbouring Pearl River Delta region, while green groups blame it on 
Hong Kong's coal-burning power stations and creaking diesel-powered buses. 
In 2002, the Hong Kong and Guangdong governments agreed to reduce the 
emission of four major air pollutants including sulphur dioxide by up to 55 
percent by 2010. 
But green groups have criticised the standard as being too 
low.