(November 3, 2010) The ongoing fight to safeguard Beijing`s dwindling water supplies and a personal battle against China`s controversial Three Gorges dam will be the subject of a special public lecture in Vancouver by leading Chinese environmental activist and journalist, Dai Qing.

Hosted by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS), this free event will be held at the Fletcher Challenge Canada Theatre in downtown Vancouver on Tuesday, Nov. 9, from 6 – 8 p.m. Media is welcome to attend.

Dai Qing first gained worldwide recognition for her battle against the world’s largest hydroelectric project, the Three Gorges dam. The dam, which last month reached full water capacity for the first time since it started generating power in 2008, is seen as a driver behind China`s economic boom but at a huge cost to the 1.4 million people it displaced and the major environmental damage it continues to cause. Dai’s book criticizing the controversial project, Yangtze! Yangtze!, earned her 10 months in a maximum-security prison after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

Dai Qing has subsequently published many other journals, articles and books in her fight for human rights, democracy and environmental causes. Among those is her current work to stop the further pollution and draining of China’s shrinking water supplies for a thirsty Beijing.

Prior to her call to activism, Dai Qing worked as a missile technician and intelligence agent.

WHAT:     Lecture: China’s Water Crisis: Beijing`s crippling water shortage and   the unfolding tragedy of the Three Gorges dam
WHO:        Dai Qing, hosted by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS)
WHEN:      6 – 8 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010
WHERE:   Fletcher Challenge Canada Theatre, SFU Harbour Centre (515 West Hastings St), Vancouver BC

Live Webcast: http://www.pics.uvic.ca/broadcast.php

University of Victoria (Media tips & leads)