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Three Gorges: Cracks in the
bureaucracy
By Miao Ye
HONG
KONG - China's Three Gorges hydroelectric power project
is no stranger to public discussion and scrutiny. After
the recent success in filling the massive reservoir and
a subsequent navigation test, everything about the dam
conjures superlatives. "Making a serene lake emerge from
the deep gorges" - a 100-year dream of the Chinese
people, according to national media - will soon cease
being words and become reality, creating the world's
largest reservoir and hydropower station. However, some
are not happy. What worries them is the numerous hidden
dangers in the project.
Objections to the dam's
construction have been a constant since the days of
theorizing about the project, but rarely are questions
or criticisms mentioned in domestic media. Propaganda
departments actively block all negative reports on the
project.
According to a correspondent from a
newspaper based in Chongqing, China's largest
municipality, a local news organization's president
said, "Our reports on the Three Gorges must outperform
outside competitors, win news awards and bring glory to
Chongqing media." The president imposed a moratorium on
reporting four aspects of the project: alluvial sediment
buildup, the more than 100 cracks that have already
appeared in the dam, pollution/environmental damage and
the return of those who were displaced from the area by
the project. The first three issues are not allowed
because with the passage of time, China's science and
technology will improve, so they can be solved. The last
taboo is forbidden because of the threat that it poses
to social unity and stability. Last, the president
encouraged his staff to work assiduously, since positive
news related to the project is quite difficult to find
nowadays.
Huang Wanli, a pre-eminent
water-resources engineering expert from Qinghua
University in Beijing, whose predictions regarding the
Sanmen Gorge of the Yellow River were proved to be
dead-on, has written many times to urge officials not to
overlook sediment in the bottom of Yangtze River.
According to his study, each year some millions of tons
of sediment move along the bottom of the river. When the
dam halts the sediment's flow, it will accumulate at the
bottom of the lake. To date nobody has dared to tackle
that problem. Although the issue has been mentioned
before in central government-controlled television
broadcasts, its serious consequences were not mentioned.
Huang Shunxing, a member of the National
People's Congress (NPC) and an agricultural and
environmental protection expert, said the Chinese
government acted single-mindedly on the Three Gorges
project and willfully ignored dissenting voices from
opponents of the project. He said that in 1992, in order
to adopt the resolution to implement the project, the
government established many restrictions at the time
when the NPC was discussing and approving the
construction, even refusing to look at even the most
basic relevant data. Materials presented in support of
the project weighed dozens of kilograms, yet only a few
brochures contained objections and/or criticisms.
The government's intention to let the NPC do the
final approval is actually to shirk its
responsibilities, Huang said.
"At the meeting of
voting on the project, I signed up to voice my views [in
opposition to the project], but there was no time
provided. I raised my hand from my seat and asked to
speak off the cuff, but the chairman just ignored me. I
even stood up, determined to present my opinion. Just
then, the sound system of the entire meeting hall was
cut off and all microphones but the one for the chairman
ceased functioning," he said.
(Copyright 2003
Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
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