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dam-l Forwarded mail...TGP follishness 2
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From owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org Tue Nov 11 13:35:43 1997
From: owner-irn-three-gorges@igc.org
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 10:01:58 -0800 (PST)
Message-Id: <199711111801.KAA11368@igc3.igc.apc.org>
>Date: Sat, 8 Nov 1997 21:51:13 PST
To: "undisclosed-recipients:;"@igc.org
>
> BEIJING, Nov 9 (AFP) - China's state media Sunday hailed the
>damming of Yangtze river in preparation for the world's largest
>hydroelectric project as proof of the communist leadership's wisdom
>and legitimacy.
> A commentary issued by the official Xinhua news agency said
>Saturday's diversion of China's longest river to build the
>monumental Three Gorges dam "has shown the world the glory of
>socialist modernisation."
> The successful completion of the first phase of the Three Gorges
>project is "proof that the Communist Party of China is a political
>party which serves the people and works for their interests," it
>said.
> The commentary described the dam -- which will generate 84.7
>billion kilowatt-hours of power annually and control flooding when
>completed in 2009 -- as a decades-old dream that had been turned
>into reality by the party.
> The dam will be "a historic monument to benefit generations," it
>added.
> The party's flagship newspaper, the People's Daily, called the
>engineering feat a "decisive victory" in the first phase of the
>17-year construction work, which is expected to cost up to 240
>billion yuan (28.9 billion dollars).
> "It is a long-cherished dream of all Chinese people, headed by
>three great leaders of this century -- Sun Yat-sen, Mao Zedong and
>Deng Xiaoping -- and it is an embodiment of the sweat and wisdom of
>researchers and engineers for generations," it said in an
>editorial.
> Sun, the revolutionary who oversaw the fall of imperial China,
>is credited with first proposing an ambitious dam at Three Gorges in
>1919.
> The editorial also praised the pioneering methods being used in
>managing the massive dam project.
> "New management systems, new investment principles, wide-ranging
>international cooperation and the introduction of the world's most
>sophisticated technological equipment through mutltiple channels
>have been applied," it said.
> President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng were on hand Saturday
>as workers used rockfill to close off the mighty river's natural
>channel by completing a temporary coffer-dam, forcing it river into
>a southern canal some 3.7 kilometres (2.3 miles) long.
> The coffer-dam, along with an identical breakwater further
>downstream, will keep dry the stretch of stream-bed where the
>185-metre (610-foot) high main dam is to be built using concrete.
> Festivities were held later on Saturday at the site, including a
>20-minute fireworks display and a song and dance gala performance,
>Xinhua said.
> A 1,080 square metre (11,621 square foot) Chinese national flag
>made of woven rugs was spread over a slope overlooking the
>ceremonial rostrum.
> The state media trumpeted the event for weeks ahead of time,
>with reports ranging from the issuing of commemorative stamps to the
>writing of a Western-style opera inspired by the damming, titled
>"The Goddess of the Gorges."
> While anger at the project within China -- where 1.2 million
>people will have to be resettled -- has been largely silenced, a
>number of foreign environmental and engineering groups have launched
>strong objections.
> They say the scale of the dam will cause massive environmental
>changes while siltation behind the dam could seriously reduce power
>generation within a few years.
> Beijing rejects the siltation fears and says the dam is
>environmentally friendly as it will create the energy equivalent of
>50 million tonnes of coal a year.
> The government also says the damming of the Yangtze, the world's
>third longest river will not affect all of the breath-taking beauty
>of the Three Gorges which have long been one of China's most famous
>tourist sites.
>-=-=-
>
>Organization: Copyright 1997 by Agence France-Presse
>Subject: China hails damming of Yangtze as coup for Communist leadership
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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 11:05:08 -0800
From: patrick@irn.org (Patrick McCully)
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Subject: China hails damming of Yangtze as coup for Communist leadership
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