(SOMEbody had to say it)
Posted on 11/08/2004 8:46:01 PM PST by Dr. Marten
High tension in Sichuan dam standoff by Kelly Haggart
Troops with steel helmets and machine guns have moved in to the Hanyuan county seat in Sichuan province as tension runs high in the Pubugou dam conflict, according to Chinese-language Hong Kong newspaper reports today (Nov. 8).
Hundreds of villagers protesting against construction of the dam on the Dadu River in southwest China have been detained, and several dozen farmers have been hospitalized after violent clashes with police that began late last month. The county seat has now been sealed off and outsiders prevented from entering, the newspaper reports said.
Eyewitnesses contacted by phone told Hong Kong’s Sun newspaper that all the hotels in the Hanyuan county seat are now filled with provincial and local government officials. Luo Gan, a member of the Communist Party’s ruling Political Bureau, was also due to arrive on the scene to deal with one of the worst outbreaks of rural unrest since the founding of the People’s Republic more than 50 years ago.
Several villagers who spoke to the Sun newspaper said tens of thousands of protesters withdrew from the dam site on Saturday night (Nov. 6) after a sit-in demonstration that lasted more than 80 hours. They agreed to end their sit-in after the government promised to postpone the scheduled damming of the river.
Most of the protesters are from three townships in Hanyuan county ?Wangong, Fuquan and Dashu. They are outraged over meagre compensation for requisitioned farmland, and allege official corruption in the resettlement operation.
Though the dam is located about 20 kilometres from their villages, they have vowed to return to the construction site if work on the project does resume.
Villagers told the Sun that people affected by the Pubugou dam now believe the government has no intention of offering better compensation terms, and that the protesters have reached a new consensus: They will not make any more demands related to the compensation package, but will simply oppose the dam outright and stand their ground ?refusing to move or to permit their land to be requisitioned or inundated.
The newspaper said that elderly men and women are among the most active participants in the protests ?in fact, are always out in front leading the charge. They have become known as the “dare-to-die brigade?because they taunt the armed police with shouts of, “Kill us, kill us! We will no longer have to move if you kill us!?
Meanwhile, foreign media reports said that more than 10,000 paramilitary police were deployed to disperse tens of thousands of demonstrators who surrounded a top Sichuan official on Friday,
Zhang Xuezhong, the provincial Communist Party boss, had arrived to investigate the unrest and became trapped in a government building, with tens of thousands of protesters outside clamouring for better compensation terms, Singapore’s Straits Times reported today (Nov. 8).
Mr. Zhang has since departed for Chengdu, the Sichuan provincial capital, without making any promises about improving the compensation terms for the 100,000 people who will be forced to move for the dam project, Hong Kong’s Sun newspaper reported.
The Pubugou protests have not been reported in the Chinese press outside of Hong Kong. Foreign and Hong Kong media are reporting three or four deaths in the clashes, with exact figures impossible to confirm.
The Pubugou dam is being built on the Dadu River, a Yangtze tributary, by the Guodian Group, one of China’s five major power companies. It has been designed to generate 14.58 billion KW of electricity annually upon completion in 2011.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please visit us at: http://www.ThreeGorgesProbe.org
Three Gorges Probe News Service:
Three Gorges Probe is dedicated to covering thescientific, technical, economic, social, and environmental ramifications of completing the Three Gorges Project, as well as thealternatives to the dam. Three Gorges Probewelcomes submissions. As part of our service, we also reprint articles about the Three Gorges Project we feel will be of interest to our readers.
All stories written by Three Gorges Probe staff may be reproduced freely, although we do ask that you credit Three Gorges Probe and send us the relevant clippings or Web site addresses.
Publisher: Patricia Adams Editor (English): Kelly Haggart Editor (Chinese): Mu Lan
Three Gorges Probe is also available in Chinese.
Ping!
I just moved from Zhejiang Province to Sichuan on Sunday and will be monitoring these developments as much as possible.
(SOMEbody had to say it)
Send in the B-2's!!!
Great. and who will then make the cr#p sold in Walmart and Costco?
Chicoms have tricked America to destroy the industrial base and become Chicom hostage.
It's nice to see that the PRC takes timeout every now and then from its ongoing onslaught against American jobs (in partnership with the evil Walmart of course) to beat up on their own people for a change. /sarcasm
Half the world lives on $1 a day or day or less... UN numbers... I am sure we can find someone to make junk
Don't forget how they're sapping our precious bodily fluids with their fluoridation scheme. We must preserve our purity of essence.
I'd like to take the Underdog Peasants, homefield advantage and good defense still count.I'm rooting for them,but at home, or on the road, the Peoples Army usually wins . Peoples Army, in 10 days or less.
Still checking the line on Ivory Coast? Take the "under" on the Frogs....................
Other way around. When the US embargoes Chinese goods, China's economy tanks. The US loses nothing by cutting off China except for a huge trade deficit.
Would like to be on a "ping list" for this if it's going to go for a day or two....
China only lists us as about 15% of their trade by dollar value, second after the EU:
|
Rank |
Country (Region) |
Jan.-May |
Increase±% |
±% |
Change±% |
|
Total Value |
4,238.4 | 37.1 | 100.0 | 0.0 | |
|
1 |
EU |
657.2 | 35.9 | 15.5 | -0.1 |
|
2 |
Japan |
386.2 | 38.4 | 18.6 | 0.7 |
|
3 |
US |
623.6 | 34.4 | 14.7 | -0.3 |
|
4 |
Hongkong |
392.3 | 25.8 | 9.3 | -0.8 |
|
5 |
ASEAN |
386.0 |
37.5 | 9.1 | 0.0 |
|
6 |
Korea |
337.1 | 48.4 | 8.0 | 0.7 |
|
7 |
Taiwan |
298.5 | 39.9 | 7.0 | 0.1 |
|
8 |
Russia |
76.5 | 36.8 | 1.8 |
0.0 |
|
9 |
Australia |
72.6 |
46.8 |
1.7 |
0.1 |
|
10 |
Canada |
56.0 |
47.6 |
1.3 |
0.1 |
I myself am in favor of stopping all business with the PRC because I find their government to be morally repugnant. We don't trade with Cuba, we don't trade with North Korea (although they did win some right to in negotiations with the Clinton administration, more shame on us), and I don't think we have any call to be trading with the PRC. But others see this matter differently, including most of our government leaders. It's interesting to me that groups that organized boycotts of South Africa due to the apartheid system have no qualms at all about trading with a vile Communist state.
I also don't like any trading strategy that means that overall we have gaping trade deficits. A small trade deficit that we can pay for out of our profits from our net assets both internal and external, well I think it is less than desirable for a great country like ours but it is acceptable. But I prefer trading strategies where we either show a profit or at least break even; I very much dislike trading strategies and fiscal policies that end up with us heavily indebted to foreigners.
I don't believe that the figures from the PRC indicate that stopping our trade with them would collapse China's economy, although perhaps there are others that do indicate this.
Dam you!
BTTT!!!!!!!!
Sad but true, if the PLA didn't have the guns, that peasant kung fu would kick their butts;)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.