As legislators roll up for the "two sessions" — the annual meetings of China’s top legislature and political advisory body — a number of key issues are in the spotlight.
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Amnesty needed for U.K. firms caught in corruption crackdown
(March 26, 2007) British businesses caught by the current round of anti-corruption investigations in the U.K. are in need of an amnesty arrangement, says global construction trade magazine, International Construction Review.
Lugar supports EBRD decision
(March 2, 2007) The decision marks the first time any development bank has debarred a company for fraud or corruption committed in a project financed by another MDB.
Theory and practice of cap and trade
(March 1, 2007) But if the investors don’t opt for the projects with the greatest abatement per dollar invested, which is the case if other objectives intrude, then the cap-and-trade system won’t bring about the beautifully efficient, minimum-cost reduction of emissions that economists and environmental lobbyists dream about. And Kyoto will cost more than current estimates allow.
Zero tolerance to ODA abuse
Vietnam has vowed to settle its notorious PMU18 scandal in a strict and
transparent manner in a bid to revive the international donor
community’s confidence in the proper use of official development
assistance, reports Hoang Mai for Vietnam Investment Review.
Worldwide protests against Salween dams in Burma
(March 1, 2007) On February 28, 2007, 19 cities worldwide expressed solidarity in opposing the planned Salween Dams.
Villagers want end of Salween dams
(March 1, 2007) Thai and Burmese villagers, backed by activists around the world, on Wednesday appealed to the Thai government to end its collaboration with the Burmese military junta on five hydro-electic dams on the Salween River.
SEPA declares war on gov’t-backed violations
(March 1, 2007) Guangzhou: China’s State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) has said it will stand firm in combating government-backed violations that have set back the country’s environment protection efforts in recent years.
Dai Qing- Journalist turned environmentalist
(March 1, 2007) Dai Qing is a journalist-turned-environmental activist, whose family was part of the Chinese revolutionary "aristocracy." After her father was killed in battle with the Japanese in 1944, just three years after Dai’s birth, she was adopted by Ye Jianying, one of the top generals in the People’s Liberation Army. Ye also served as Defense Minister and was one of the most powerful men in China until his death in 1986.
Dam will displace thousands
(March 1, 2007) Karenni and Shan refugees from Burma yesterday urged the Thai government to stop building hydroelectric dams on the Salween River – warning that they would displace another 100,000 people.
The invisible costs of the Salween dam project
(February 28, 2007) The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), has been touting at least five dam projects on the Salween River inside Burma and along the Thailand-Burma border as potentially enormous sources of “cheap” energy.
Fog on the Nu River
(February 28, 2007) The proposed construction of a dam and hydroelectric plant on southwest China’s Nu River has sparked one of the country’s most heated environmental debates.
Dams on Salween threaten indigenous groups
(February 28, 2007) “We still do not know where we will be moved. The officials who came to survey our village and the nearby area did not ask for our views or discuss the plans,” says Nu, whose village has thrived on an economy of rice and vegetable farming for nearly 100 years.
Aid plan for resettled residents
At least 1 million people, mostly dwellers in Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, have made way for the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric project. Now the local government is paving the way for a better life for the resettled residents, at least one out of 10 of whom are unemployed.
Zambia: Let the looters pay the vultures
(February 28, 2007) A recent British high court ruling that permits a so-called "vulture fund" to pursue an enormous profit on its purchase of Third World debt from Zambia has provoked a backlash from global debt campaigners. However, U.S. law professor Larry Cata Backer argues that, within an odious debts context, the fund ought to be able to seek repayment but not from the people of Zambia.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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Probe International 