(February 20, 1999) Thailand needs a new electricity system that makes the rights of consumers and citizens preeminent.
Letter from Probe International to Lloyd Axworthy, Minister of Foreign Affairs
(February 24, 1999) Re: CIDA’s plans to sell Canadian nuclear technology to Thailand.
As flood season arrives, China combats 'drought and flood' climate
The ‘northern drought, southern flood’ pattern has become a recurring climatic trend in China, and has already affected tens of millions of people nationwide this year.
Report: Petitioners complain of corruption around dam in China
BEIJING (AP) — People being forced out of their homes by China’s massive Three Gorges Dam have accused resettlement officials of corruption, an environmental lobbying group said Sunday.
What Thai citizens should know about Canada’s nuclear power program
(February 1, 1999) Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) wants to sell a CANDU (Canadian Deuterium Uranium) reactor to Thailand. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited has not had a single order for a CANDU reactor in Canada since 1982, but in the last decade, AECL has sold four reactors to South Korea, two to China, and two to Romania. Now it is hoping for additional sales to these countries, as well as to Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. AECL’s sales are taxpayer financed through the Export Development Corporation, a federal Crown corporation.
Foreign investors in China, like AES, unsettled by electricity policy that may undercut pricing
(January 28, 1999) A reform designed to bring competition to China’s electricity supply could be good news for consumers but bad for foreign businesses, which say the new policies may slow investment.
Damming spree
The Tiger Leaping Gorge dam has been listed as one of the country’s major infrastructure projects for the 11th five-year plan period (2006-2010). Although final approval is pending, there is a strong likelihood the project will go ahead.
Laos dam resettlement plan approved
(January 22, 1999) A (USDollar) 1.2 billion hydropower project seen as crucial for one of Asia’s poorest countries cleared a major hurdle yesterday when affected communities in Laos supported a resettlement plan.
All aboard the EDC money train: The Export Development Corporation uses government money to prop up smokestack industries while discouraging private-sector competition in the credit insurance business
(January 11, 1999) The Export Development Corporation funds environmentally-damaging industries with taxpayer money, writes Patricia Adams.
The scandal of Third World debt
(December 31, 1998) There are increasing calls for creditor nations to cancel the foreign debts of Central American nations badly hit by Hurricane Mitch.
Behind the red velvet curtain lies a culture destroyed
(December 30, 1998) ‘Of China’s 606 cities, two-thirds are seriously short of water. The aquifer level under Beijing is 80 metres down, dropping a metre a year. No one knows how much remains.’
News briefs
(December 28, 1998) A leader of China Yangtze Three Gorges Project Development Corp (CTGPC) admits that defects have been reported in the dam construction, reports China Daily.
Special analysis on Three Gorges: Flagship of centralized electricity
(December 28, 1998) Three Gorges is the flagship of the large-scale, centralized electricity expansion programme. As long as the Three Gorges dam proceeds, desperately needed market and policy reforms will be stymied, say authors.
News briefs
(December 28, 1998) China’s Premier Zhu Rongji urges builders of Three Gorges dam to pay more attention to the “quality” of its construction, an AFP story quotes Xinhua.
Probe International submission to the Export Development Act Review
(December 21, 1998) The Export Development Corporation is unnecessary, costly, and unaccountable. It misleads the Canadian public and is an environmental wrecker. This patronage agency should be shut down.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
Other News Sources
Probe International 