(August 19, 2006) Having been deprived of running water for two months, 2,100 residents in Gaochun county in Jiangsu have been forced to get their supplies from a river ridden with the parasitic worm that can cause liver, gastrointestinal tract and bladder diseases.
Yunnan’s Baoshan power grid plans to supply electricity to Myanmar
(August 17, 2006) The Baoshan branch of the Yunnan Power Grid Company plans to build a power transmission ‘highway’ from Tengchong county in southwest China’s Yunnan province to Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state in Burma.
Three Gorges navigation woes set to worsen
(August 14, 2006) The delays that have plagued boats trying to get around the Three Gorges dam are set to worsen soon when one-half of the two-way shiplock is taken out of service for more than nine months.
Yangtze River suffers rare drought in flood season
(August 14, 2006) The Yangtze is in the grip of a rare drought, with water in many sections of the river at historically low levels. Navigation authorities have reinforced patrols along the waterway, warning vessels against running aground.
Drought alert for parched Sichuan
(August 14, 2006) Lack of rain and heatwave making safe drinking water scarce.
Businesses to confront resources price hikes
(August 14, 2006) A top National Development and Reform Commission official says liberalizing the price of raw materials and energy will increase costs in the long run, but the government is determined to make prices more dependent on market forces.
Chinese government to subsidize 22 mln reservoir immigrants
China will raise electric power rates to compensate 22 million people who have been relocated to make way for dams and reservoirs. They will be paid 600 yuan (US$75) a year for 20 years in the hope of improving their living conditions, Xinhua reports.
One-third of China’s dams unsafe
(August 8, 2006) ‘What I fear most is dam collapses, and I think it’s not just me. Party and state leaders at every level fear this," said E Jianping, head of China’s flood-fighting agency.
China warns aging dams risk flood disaster
(August 8, 2006) The head of China’s State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has said he is worried about the country’s aging dams, many of which were built in the 1950s and 1960s. ‘Now many dams are already operating beyond their expiry date,’ he said.
The Fallen: Shame and scandal on the road to riches
(August 7, 2006) Mark O’Neill looks at a rogue’s gallery of the business world as China takes the fast lane to progress.
Sturgeons released
(August 7, 2006) Thousands of endangered Chinese sturgeons, equipped with microchips that will record migration patterns, have been released into the Yangtze River. Each fish also carries a tag with a phone number so that, if caught, it can be returned to scientists.
Chinese go further, faster and higher with media crackdowns two years before Beijing Olympics
(August 7, 2006) ‘The Chinese police continue to jail, attack or intimidate Chinese citizens who talk to the foreign press. The most dramatic recent case was that of Fu Xiancai, an activist on behalf of people displaced by the Three Gorges dam.’
Quakes the main natural disaster killer on mainland
(August 6, 2006) Earthquakes have killed more people in China than any other form of natural disaster, accounting for 54 per cent of such deaths since 1949, a Chinese seismological official says.
Damming Asia’s watershed: China’s hydropower plans in Tibet
(August 4, 2006) After covering most of the rivers of southwestern China in dams and turbines, the big players in the industry – encouraged by the central government in Beijing – are now coveting Tibet, which is thought to have the biggest potential capacity of all.
Asian hopes for hydropower may add to oil reliance
(August 4, 2006) ‘Asian plans for a multitude of hydroelectric projects will lead some nations to a greater reliance on dams to meet power demand, potentially triggering costly bouts of extra oil imports in times of drought.’
Probe International 