Tens of thousands of people have visited an exhibition in
Beijing that showcases China's progress in resettling
about?one million people from the Three Gorges dam site.
Li Changchun, a member of the Standing
Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party
Central Committee, said during a visit to the exhibition at the
National Museum that the progress of the dam project and
resettlement displayed the advantages of China's socialist system,
the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the cohesion of
the people.
The dam, when it begins operating at full capacity in 2009, help
prevent flooding in densely-populated areas while generating clean
energy.
The exhibition opened on?April 7, and will tour nine
provinces from mid-April to early June.
Those displaced for the project were given compensation to build
new homes, or given farmland or jobs in other areas.
Cao Guangjing, deputy general manager with China Yangtze River
Three Gorges Development Corp, the state-owned company in charge of
the world's largest dam project, said last September that more than
1.05 million people had been successfully relocated over the past
two decades.
The number accounted for 82.6 percent of the 1.13 million people
expected to be displaced from their homes.
Cao said most of the resettled people were satisfied with their
new lives, enjoying better living conditions.
China began an eight-year trial resettlement in 1985 and
officially launched the operation in 1993 when the construction
of?the 185-meter-high dam started on the middle reaches of
China's longest river.
By last July, nearly 42.9 billion yuan (US$5.3 billion) had been
earmarked for relocating residents and businesses, building homes
and infrastructure.
Of the investment, 21 billion yuan (US$2.6 billion) was donated
by 21 Chinese provinces and municipalities, more than 10 large and
medium-sized cities, and 50-plus government departments to help the
mammoth endeavor.
Involving an investment of 203.9 billion yuan (US$25.2 billion),
the project is designed to help control floods on the Yangtze and
increase China's annual power supply by an equivalent to 50 million
tons of standard coal.
Meanwhile, Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said on Friday the Chinese
leadership, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, attached great importance to
resettlement.
Meeting people cited for their contribution to the successful
resettlement, Zeng urged governments at various levels to continue
their support for the residents by creating more jobs and raising
living standards.
(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2006)