(February 23, 2001) ‘One expert, Chen Guojie of the China Academy of Sciences, has compared China’s "hydropower fever" to the rampant construction of ramshackle iron smelters during the Great Leap Forward.’

(April 8, 2002) ‘China is now the workshop of the world, and while Westerners enjoy cheap commodities … we are dumping all the waste in our own backyard, our own rivers,’ said environmental consultant Ma Jun. ‘Consumers have a responsibility in this.’

(March 29, 2002) ‘Two major toxic spills in the "new" China, with its roaring economy, are now threatening the ecosystems of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, long considered the cradles of Chinese civilization.’

(March 28, 2002) Wen Wei Po says the official review of the Nu River environmental-impact assessment has been completed, and that because the EIA documents concern an international river, they have been classified a national secret.

(March 27, 2002) Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po, which has ties to the Communist Party, reports that a government environmental review of the Nu River dam project recommends building four dams instead of the 13 originally planned.

(March 26, 2002) The spring thaw could release more toxins into the water from a chemical explosion last year, the United Nations said in a report, which also criticized China for its slow initial response to the crisis in the Songhua River.

(November 13, 2000) ‘Rising energy demands due to rapid industrialization, combined with soaring oil prices and worrying levels of pollution leave, many Asian countries but one choice: diversify their energy sources. The region is increasingly turning to renewable energy.’

(March 25, 2002) China’s power companies with an installed capacity of more than 5 gigawatts will have to ensure 5 per cent of their electricity generators are fuelled by renewable energy sources by 2010, with the proportion rising to 10 per cent by 2020.

(November 7, 2000) China has suspended approval for 44 proposed industrial plants and rejected plans for another 16 in the first quarter due to concerns that they could threaten the environment, said Pan Yue, deputy director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).

(June 20, 2000) About 100 new hydroelectric plants will be built on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and its numerous branches in the next two decades, a top Three Gorges Project Development Corp. official says.

(October 29, 2008) With the last turbo-generator in operation on the south bank of the Yangtze River at 9 a.m. Wednesday, the Three Gorges Project looks set to be completed one year ahead of construction schedule.