Probe International

(July 31, 2002) Work has begun on the next phase of the reservoir-area cleanup operation, in advance of the planned raising of the water level after the 2006 flood season to 156 metres above sea level.

(February 12, 2002) Information on which factories pose risks to rivers will not be made available until an appropriate time after the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on Jan. 29, China’s environment chief says.

(February 8, 2002) More than half of the country’s 21,000 chemical plants are located along the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, said SEPA director Zhou Shengxian, adding that many had not conducted environmental impact assessments and were built in improper locations.

(February 7, 2002) ‘With the health of villagers in the Han valley already compromised by foul-smelling rivers, the massive north-south water transfer scheme appears set to make matters worse.’

(January 23, 2002) An 82-year-old Shaanxi farmer who campaigns on behalf of people who lost land to the Sanmenxia dam has been released from detention after being asked to promise not to demand more compensation related to the 2003 Wei River floods.

(January 20, 2002) ‘Mrs Song never had much interest in politics but when factory pollution began poisoning well water and killing crops, the young mother got angry.’

(January 20, 2002) Construction of the Three Gorges Dam Project is expected to be completed in May this year, nine months earlier than scheduled, the Xinhua News Agency has reported.

(February 6, 2006) Shanghai has been hit by its first salinity crisis this year, with a chloride concentration above the recommended level, municipal water authorities announced.

(January 16, 2002) SEPA vice-director Pan Yue also named 10 metals, transportation and power projects under construction near rivers, areas of dense population and ecological protection zones as posing serious environmental dangers.

(January 16, 2002) Officials and executives who delay reporting or who cover up ‘sudden environmental incidents’ may face criminal prosecution, a SEPA official is quoted as saying.

(January 13, 2002) While overall power consumption in China has surged over the past five years, the rate of demand is slowing, according to a State Council report.

(January 10, 2002) ‘We will be watching closely [to see] if SEPA will really ask these plants on the list to stop production if they cannot meet the requirements or if they will only impose penalties, which actually fatten their own pockets,’ Dai Qing is quoted as saying.

(January 1, 2002) Cracking down after a spate of toxic chemical spills, China’s environmental agency has ordered cleanups at some heavily polluting factories and is planning inspections of other big projects.

(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.