Posted on 05/14/2007 4:59:16 PM PDT by JACKRUSSELL
The water purity of a river tapped to make China's national liquor is being threatened by uncontrolled building of other drinks factories along its banks, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.
Kweichow Moutai, maker of the fiery Maotai drink served at Chinese state banquets and used to toast guests ranging from Margaret Thatcher to Kim Il-sung, draws water for the brew from the Chishui River in remote southwest Guizhou province.
But authorities are investigating how 39 illegal alcoholic drinks plants have sprung up by the river, polluting both the air and water, Xinhua said.
"It seriously threatens the environmental security of the Chishui River and the production base of Maotai," it added.
The illegal factories have been fined and ordered to close, the report said.
It was used to toast the founding of the People's Republic on October 1, 1949. Premier Zhou Enlai welcomed US President Nixon with Maotai during his groundbreaking trip to China in 1972.
It was on Zhou's instructions that all industry was banned from 100 km (60 miles) upstream of the Chishui River site used to make Maotai in order to preserve its purity.
"But following the daily rise in frequency of human activity, the ecological problems of the special ecosystem of the Chishui River have become more and more pronounced," Xinhua said.
Wow - what a wild “off the wall” thread.
Thanks for posting it - I found it interesting.
New stuff - I love it.
I would love to see Al Gore challenge China on their environmental standards.
Or are the Chinese buying lots of carbon credits?
Perhaps the Communist Party in China is devoted to being carbon neutral.
I suspect you would quickly find Algore floating down one of those rivers if he did challenge them.
Can I sell Carbon Credits? I’ll plant trees for $20 a pop.
I see your interest in China.
May I ask it’s origin? Is it your background?
We know that the Chinese Military are environmentally friendly.-My -ss.
that country will melt the soil it sits on and roll into the sea
I'll take MaiTai anyday.. ;-)
All I’ve ever drank from China was Tsing Tao — great stuff.
Chinese Bootleggers. has Kennedy started importing it yet?
What wonderful news, MauTai is the most hideous stuff ever, if this means the end of that poison the only losers will be fishermen. It is the MOST ghastly stuff in the world to drink (but necessary if you do business in China) but it is very good for taking paint of old boat bottoms.
Teddy will taste a lot of it before he starts importing.
Teddy Kennedy can take it.
I have had it a few times myself.
Imagine the rotten sweepins of the floor of a vegetable market—throw in a dead cat or two—fermented and then distilled.
But what the hell, as long its got alcohol in it...
I am not Chinese. I only really became interested in China when the pet food recall began. I have a very soft spot in my heart for dogs and cats......I have a dog and two cats, neither was a statistic, thank God. As I read more and more, I realized that Americans are probably on the receiving end of poison food (and other types of toxic products) from China as well.
It is amazing how little is reported on this subject here in our media......it seems the international press is much better at getting this information out. I think it is important for everyone to at least know about it, they can do what they want to with the information. I have written my congressman regarding food labels and this issue, and I am trying as hard as I can not to buy anything from China.
They have tried being nice about it, but they have come to realize that sending an inspector to 10 illegal or possibly illegally-polluting factories just makes for very rich inspectors.
Now they are sending out teams of inspectors and shutting them down on the spot. Used to be that just paying off the local CCP boss would keep you safe, but that’s not working anymore. Or at least it’s not working as well as it used to.
As the Olympics gets closer you can expect violators to face even stronger sanction. I would not be surprised to see the owners of these illegal plants hustled into an auditorium and shot in the back of the head.
Ain’t no river free of poop, nowhere.
Drink up the river from the horses.
I wont drink to that. eweeeeee
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