‘We’ve been looking forward to this report for a long time,’ says environmental journalist Wang Yongchen. ‘Obviously it shows that the Chinese government is making this problem a priority. Otherwise they wouldn’t have published such a big figure of loss.’
Other News Sources
China counts pollution cost
China has announced the first results of a long-term project to quantify the impact of growing pollution on its economy, estimating that environmental damage cost the equivalent of 3 per cent of economic output in 2004.
Let’s discuss water scarcity
(August 6, 2008) The Olympics have swung the focus of international attention to China’s many achievements and problems, but water shortage is not just a local issue affecting Beijing and surrounding areas.
EDC Legislation (Chapter E-20)
(August 18, 2008) All spin and no substance: Chapter E-20, the Export Development Act R.S. 1985, c. E20 (formerly Bill C-31) is a devious amendment to convince the public that EDC is doing something to protect the environment while, in fact, EDC is frustrating efforts to stop its environmentally damaging activities. Furthermore, this law prevents any references to the Export Development Corporation on pain of jail or a hefty fine. It needlessly curtails free speech.
Chamera dam, India
Through a series of Access to Information requests to CIDA, Probe International has received nearly 2000 pages of documentation regarding the financing and construction of the Chamera dam in the Himachal Pradesh province of India. (At the time of publishing, EDC was exempt from the Access to Information Act.) We are currently reviewing this material and preparing a detailed list of documentation.
For more information contact:
Patricia Adams
patriciaadams@nextcity.com
Candu reactors
(August 18, 2008) EDC has been the source of life support for Candu nuclear exports over the years. It has financed Candu sales to South Korea, Argentina, and Romania.
China Yangtze Power raises on-grid charges
(August 17, 2006) China Yangtze Power Co Ltd, owner of the Three Gorges project, has increased by 38 per cent the price it charges grid companies for electricity.
Opinion, suggestion sought for post-quake rebuilding
(August 16, 2008) A few days ago, the State Overall Planning for the Post-Wenchuan Earthquake Restoration and Reconstruction (Public Opinion Soliciting Draft) started to solicit opinions from home and abroad. An official was interviewed by the press and answered the questions regarding the public opinion solicitation.
Absence of Justice
On November 18, 2002, the government of Dachang Zhen (Great Prosperity Town) in Wushan County, Yangtze River, sent the following dispatch about the wharf and the house belonging to Lu Chengming, who was to be relocated:
In order to accomplish the task of properly resettling those who are being relocated from our village, and to ensure the total success of the clearance from the dam area, a number of county, town and village cadres have repeatedly been to Lu Chengming’s home in Xingsheng Cun (Abundant Village) to persuade him to see reason, but comrade Lu Chengming still refuses to be resettled…
The Wushan Governor’s Murder
On the evening of September 22, 1998, the Governor of Wushan County, Cai Jun, was shot and killed in his own home in an attack by an assailant carrying a gun. His wife and their baby weren’t injured, and nothing was taken.
Cai Jun was of indeterminate age and from Chongqing’s Kaixian County. His educational background and employment career were also relatively unknown to the people of Wushan…
Hidroaysen submits plan for Patagonia’s hydroelectric project
(August 15, 2008) Electric Power Congolmerate Hopes to Dam Chile’s Pascua and Baker Rivers Multinational energy congolmerate HidroAysén submitted its environmental impact statement to the Chilean government Thursday morning, outlining its plans to dam the Baker and Pascua Rivers in Chile’s southern Patagonia region. The proposed project includes five massive hydroelectric dams that have come under fierce criticism from environmentalists around the world.
The perils of delivering aid
(August 15, 2008) The gunning down of three female foreign aid workers – two of them Canadians – and their Afghan driver a few dozen miles south of Kabul on Wednesday is the latest bloody murder to underscore the relentless deterioration in Afghan security conditions.
Three Gorges expose wins top prize at film festival
‘Many journalists, international and national, wrote reports and questioned the Three Gorges project. But once it was completed they stopped. I know the population is still suffering from it.’ — filmmaker Jia Zhangke
Three Gorges cleared of rodents before water levels rise
Forty-three tons of rat poison have been laid to clear the Three Gorges reservoir area of rodents before water levels are raised to 156 meters later this month.
Three Gorges sightseers to transfer to buses
Tourist travelling on the Yangtze River to admire the Three Gorges project will have to transfer to buses to get around the dam for the next year while construction work is under way on the shiplock, Xinhua reports.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
Other News Sources
Probe International 