(April 16, 2003) Despite the questions raised around the world about the human and ecological impact of big dams, China remains committed to building them. The cost in human-rights abuses has been, and continues to be, high.
Don’t ignore downsides of dams, official warns
(February 28, 2003) Pan Jiazheng, one of China’s top engineers, has issued a strongly worded warning to his profession not to deny the disadvantages of water projects, or neglect to address the harmful impacts when they occur.
Candid remarks on ‘water calamities’
(February 21, 2003) Speech delivered by Pan Jiazheng, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former vice-director of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, at the Department of Water Conservancy and Hydropower, Qinghua University, Beijing, and reprinted in Guangming Daily (Guangming Ribao) on February 21, 2003.
Ten issues for Three Gorges propaganda
(February 20, 2003) A senior spokesman for the scheme summarizes the issues that the official Chinese media should prepare themselves to ‘propagandize.’
Three Gorges sedimentation concerns build up
(January 24, 2003) The builders of the Three Gorges project are showing new concern about the prospect of a dangerous buildup of silt in the massive reservoir behind the dam, and are still discussing basic aspects of the dam’s operating regime and likely impacts.
Big landslide in new settlement of Badong
(December 18, 2002) Residents were moved out overnight from a dangerous part of the new county town of Badong in the Three Gorges area after a big landslide last week, Hubei Daily (Hubei ribao) reports. The landslide started moving quickly on Dec. 9, the newspaper said in its Dec. 14 report. The mass, about 250 metres long and 100 metres wide, contained 150,000 cubic metres of mud and rock, and moved three metres in just three hours, the newspaper said. Crops and trees were damaged, but there were no reports of injuries, it said.
Flood types on the Yangtze River
(September 12, 2002) The big dam will be ‘totally useless’ in the face of the most common type of Yangtze flood, a senior Chinese Academy of Sciences researcher writes.
Ten die in Chongqing garbage-mountain collapse
(June 20, 2002) Ten people were killed when a massive garbage mountain collapsed in urban Chongqing last week, burying them alive, the Chongqing Morning Post (Chongqing Chenbao) reported.
Rainstorms trigger hundreds of rockfalls in Chongqing area
(June 19, 2002) Torrential rain in recent weeks has caused a spate of serious geological incidents, a local newspaper reports.
Landslide threatens Chongqing apartment building
(June 12, 2002) A big landslide that fell into downtown Chongqing last week is still hanging on the hillside just a few metres above a 10-storey apartment building, which is liable to be engulfed at any moment, China News Service (Zhongguo xinwen she) reports.
Massive landslide near dam forces emergency evacuation
(June 5, 2002) A huge landslide, reactivated by the heavy rain of recent weeks in the Three Gorges dam area, is still sliding down the mountain, China Central Television (Zhongyang dianshi tai) reported last week. Residents of the danger zone are being moved to safety and no deaths or injuries have been reported, CCTV said.
Landslides put lives at risk in Three Gorges area
(May 14, 2002) Heavy rain in the Three Gorges dam area this month has triggered half a dozen landslides that have put hundreds of lives at risk and heightened concern about the region’s geological instability.
‘Earthquake risk’ from dams
(May 9, 2002) Large dams in mountainous regions could threaten people living near them by stressing the Earth’s crust to danger levels, a scientist says.
Dam casts giant shadow over south-north water project
(May 2, 2002) The many problems that have surfaced with the costly Three Gorges dam must cast doubt on the even more expensive south-north water transfer project, the Hong Kong Sun newspaper (Taiyang bao) has said.
Big dam beset by big money troubles
(March 19, 2002) The cost of moving people to make way for the Three Gorges dam has soared hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and is one reason project managers are now scrambling to resolve funding problems, a respected Chinese publication reports.
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