(July 1, 2002) ‘Heads are rolling in the wake of the Harbin toxic spill, but it’s not Big Industry that’s getting the chop.’

(June 12, 2002) Chinese authorities are investigating the death of a deputy mayor who had told reporters there was no pollution from a chemical plant blast that poisoned a river.

(June 4, 2002) Thousands of citizens who petition Chinese authorities for the redress of grievances are attacked, beaten, threatened and intimidated, Human Rights Watch says in a new report.

(June 3, 2002) China will start construction this month on the Xiluodu dam on the Jinsha River [upper Yangtze], after the project was frozen at the start of the year over environmental concerns.

(November 1, 1991)View speech

(October 18, 2001) ‘The most urgent task for us is to check water pollution to ensure the safety of drinking water, and we must win the battle,’ says SEPA director Zhou Shengxian.

(October 12, 2001) China announces ‘concrete measures that will transform the light rain of the past into a storm of environmental protection that will wipe out serious polluters,’ China Daily reports.

(August 18, 2001) China announced a plan Wednesday to combat widespread pollution and leave a better environment for future generations, citing the need to stave off possible social instability.

(July 12, 2001) Chinese officials frequently pledge tighter regulations and tougher punishments to try to curb pollution, but analysts are hopeful that the document issued Wednesday by the State Council will carry more weight.

(July 1, 2001) A massive hydroelectric scheme in western China has left locals poor and discontented, a researcher at an official think-tank said, casting doubt on official promises that the country’s dams bring prosperity.

(June 30, 2001) Local governments in China are investing heavily in trophy construction projects while neglecting a basic need for environmental infrastructure such as wastewater treatment systems, a senior Chinese official said.

(June 30, 2001) Hundreds – and possibly thousands – of Three Gorges migrants weren’t given new land and housing, as required by government regulations.

(June 8, 2001) China is to begin a comprehensive audit of the Three Gorges project in March, Xinhua reports.

(June 7, 2001) The Three Gorges project stands as a black mark on Canada’s human rights record abroad, says Probe International’s Patricia Adams. ‘You have to be willing to walk away from a project if it violates your principles.’

(June 6, 2001) A spill from a power plant on the Yuexi River has disrupted the water supply to more than 20,000 residents of Guanyin town.