(December 31, 2001) Sources say the pressure on the Chinese media has become so intense that the Southern Metropolis News recently decided to cut back on coverage of news that would offend the authorities.

(December 29, 2001) Chen Jieren’s newspaper ran a story that said relief funds allocated by Beijing to flood victims in Shaanxi were held up by provincial and municipal governments. The story upset the Shaanxi government, which complained to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

(December 20, 2001) A U.S. Department of Energy report notes that while China is planning or constructing many new large-scale dams, ‘America no longer builds the hydroelectric dams championed by FDR.’

(December 15, 2001) The current Iranian crisis holds dire economic and non-economic consequences for China, Iran’s energy partner. The China-Iran connection covers a whole spectrum of economic activities, including dam-building.

(December 12, 2001) Pan Yue, the environment watchdog’s vice-director, this week made the startling declaration that a lack of democracy meant vested interests had been able to recklessly degrade the country’s environment.

(December 9, 2001) The Three Gorges Project Corp, says the dam has produced a cumulative total of 100 billion kilowatts of electricty.

(November 23, 2001) The Three Gorges and Gezhouba dams will produce slightly less power this year than last, the general manager announces.

(November 21, 2001) Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao have highlighted rural stagnation and unrest to pressure foot-dragging officials before China’s parliament convenes from March 5 to discuss a five-year national development plan, observers say.

(November 21, 2001) Work has begun to clean up the area that will be flooded in late September or early October when the reservoir water level is raised from 139 metres to 156 metres.

(November 21, 2001) ‘Chinese power production safety faces serious challenges despite stable operation in 2005, said a senior official with the State Electricity Regulatory Commission.’

(July 23, 2002) Chinese experts lashed out at a report claiming the Three Gorges project had triggered the Nov. 26 earthquake in Jiangxi province, calling it ‘sheer speculation without any scientific foundation.’

(July 14, 2002) ‘The move is seen as a bid for accountability. One observer says the crisis points up the nation’s bureaucratic paralysis during emergencies.’

(July 13, 2002) The resignation of Xie Zhenhua, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), following a chemical spill that has seriously polluted the Songhua River, is a fresh warning to Chinese officials who think they can get away with blunders or mismanagement.

(July 9, 2002) An official who stole 2.81 million yuan (US$350,000) of the Three Gorges Reservoir Project resettlement fund has been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.

(July 6, 2002) Constructing energy-efficient buildings could, by 2020, reduce China’s energy consumption for air-conditioning by the equivalent of 4.5 times the output of the Three Gorges dam, economists forecast.