(April 3, 2000) Pan, academician of both Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering and head of the experts panel for the Three Gorges project revealed that some cracks have been detected on the surface of the northern-bank dam section, and they have been treated properly.
PRESS RELEASE Three Gorges executive fired for malfeasance
(March 24, 2000) State auditors unravel Three Gorges web of corruption – A top executive with the largest Three Gorges dam subcontractor was fired in January for his decision to buy second-hand, dilapidated construction machinery to build the world’s largest hydrodam.
Chinese official sentenced to death for stealing resettlement funds
(March 24, 2000) Chongqing city has handed down the first dealth penalty in connection with Three Gorges corruption, a Singapore-based newspaper, Lianhe Zaobao, reported on March 11.
News briefs
Hallmark dam completed on Yangtze River
(March 19, 2000) Construction crews finished the main wall of the world’s largest hydroelectic dam on Saturday, Xinhua News Agency reported. After 13 years of construction, the structure of the 185-meter-high (607 feet), 2,309-meter-long (1.4-mile-long) dam across the Yangtze River was completed at around 2 pm on Saturday.
China completes dam of world’s largest hydroelectric project
(March 10, 2000) ‘Many people have known something is wrong with the project, but few have dared to speak up,’ high-profile dam opponent Dai Qing wrote on Three Gorges Probe.
Three Gorges petition
(March 3, 2000) Urgent appeal that the Three Gorges project should be operated at the initial retained water level of 156 metres in line with the National People’s Congress’s resolution in order to evaluate silt deposit and to reduce resettlement pressure
Three Gorges dam finished
(February 28, 2000) After 10 years in the making, the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River has been finished. That’s almost ten months ahead of schedule. The last cubic meter of concrete was poured into the 185 meter-high main wall on Sunday afternoon. Our reporter Guo Liying was there… All across the nation, people’s heart and soul stays with these workers as they started here almost ten years ago to erect the world’s highest dam.
Peddling yesterday’s technology: Aid for large hydro dams must be stopped
Speech to the World Commission on Dams presented by Probe International’s Grainne Ryder
Chinese officials caught embezzling Three Gorges resettlement funds
(February 21, 2000) China’s State Auditing Administration has revealed that local officials have embezzled about $57.7 million (all figures in U.S. dollars) in Three Gorges resettlement funds.
500,000 people to be affected by Yunnan hydropower development in the next 15 years
(January 25, 2000) According to the 22nd meeting of the Standing Committee of Yunnan People’s Congress, starting from this year, Yunnan Province will have to move an average of 40,000 people every year to pave the way for hydropower development, which is equivalent to the total figure of dam migrants in the past 50 years.
PRESS RELEASE Chinese government orders farmers out of Three Gorges region
(January 18, 2000) In a desperate attempt to keep pace with construction of the Three Gorges dam, which will flood close to two million people out of their homes, China’s central government recently announced plans to move 125,000 rural people out of the project area.
China’s official media reports Three Gorges dam investment and resettlement figures
(January 18, 2000) China News Agency reported on January 12 that the Three Gorges dam has cost the Chinese government $5.65 billion (all figures in U.S. dollars) since construction began in 1993. The news agency also reports that this year the government plans to invest another $1.57 billion in the $30-billion dam, making 2000 the project’s peak investment year thus far. The $1.57-billion investment is assured according to a quote from a leader of China’s Three Gorges Project Corporation, the dam’s sole contractor.
Plans call for energy efficiency
(January 3, 2000) Plans have been launched to make both residential and office buildings more energy efficient. In the first five months of the year, industrial policymakers announced three sets of new national standards. They are regulations on energy saving for civil buildings, standards for residential buildings and technical evaluations of residential constructions.
Auditors uncover tide of misconduct
(December 17, 1999) Company funds spent on securities speculation, flood control money squandered on building a new hotel, billions stolen to set up a company and bogus stock listings are among the misdeeds uncovered by government auditors this year.
Probe International 