During a visit late last month to the CWRC offices, Yu Zhengsheng recounted that someone had joked that he was lucky to be appointed Hubei party secretary just as the dam was about to make floods in the province a thing of the past.

“I don’t think so, of course,” Mr. Yu is quoted as saying. “My understanding is that there will still be floods in Hubei, even though the project will to some extent reduce the frequency and severity of the disasters. So we must attach great importance to this issue, and under no circumstances treat the matter lightly.”

Mr. Yu’s remarks follow similar concerns raised by CWRC director Cai Qihua, who told a meeting of academics and officials in Wuhan that the dam “will not completely solve the Yangtze River flood problem.” [See Three Gorges Probe, Dec. 20, 2001, “Water official raises Yangtze flood-control concerns.”]

Mr. Yu said his top priorities will be Yangtze flood control, construction of the Three Gorges dam, and the south-north water transfer scheme, which will divert Yangtze water to north China.