Dear all,

Yesterday (September 3), CCTV ran a news feature on the current status of
upper Mekong navigation project. The feature emphasized very much on
environmental protection and border protection. Obviously, Chinese
contractors are now attracting more business deals on downstream Mekong:
http://www.cctv.com/news/china/20030903/101006.shtml
http://www.cctv.com/news/china/20030903/101011.shtml
(both stories are written in simplified Chinese.)

I just summarized new findings below:
1. CCTV journalist said, "our ship is now travelling on this section of
Mekong River, which used to be the most dangerous, and is called Triangle
Stone Beach. The photos on my hand is the original outlook of Triangle
Stone Beach. But after modification work, it becomes a wide and safe
watercourse."

2. Lu Juan, the Minister of International Cooperation for Ministry of
Communications said, "because this is an international project, we have to
establish three principles before its implementation: first, we have to
protect the environment of the river and riparian areas; second, we cannot
change the the river border; third, we have to respect the sovereignty of
each country, and gain the permission before starting the work."

3. After the construction work in the two dry period of 2002 and 2003, 9
shoals and 11 reefs on the upper Mekong River have been tackled, without
affecting the riparian environment.

4. In order to avoid affecting returning fish from spawning, we minimize the
project work, and the construction team has adopted "study, test and monitor
first, and then implement" approach, to make sure the water flow and the
environment will be as intact as before."

Qiao Xin-min, the project foreman of the upper Mekong River navigation
improvement project, said, "in order to avoid damaging the fish, we placed
some small crackers around the shoals on the water surface, to drive away
the fish before the blasting. We have made sure that no fish is surfaced on
the water."

5. After precise watercourse surveying, and with the advanced blasting
technique, the quality of blasting work funded by China is said to be
first-class, without damaging the riparian water-born species.

Lu Juan said, "originally the experts from the four countries worried about
the impacts on riparian environment, but now the project is completed and
they no longer worry about this. They now even pro-actively request us to
continue the navigation improvement project in downstream Mekong River."

Best,
Kevin

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for Your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark
Printer at Myinks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511
http://us.click.yahoo.com/l.m7sD/LIdGAA/qnsNAA/ZfOolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Administrator: Kevin Li (based in Hong Kong)

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
lancang-mekong-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/