China Starts Construction on Yarlung Tsangpo Megadam

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Points note Megam In Tibet, Exit It is imposed on American citizens, and Rural toilets Be in investigation.

China is considering a record dam

Chinese Prime Minister Lee Qiang announced during the weekend that the construction began on Megadum on the Yarlong Tabtu River.

Megadam is scheduled to become the largest electrical energy system in the world, and costs an estimated $ 167 billion, to a large extent the most expensive megapot in all time. It is expected that it will provide 300 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually, or about 4 percent of the energy needs in China.

Megadams is very controversial. While a clean energy generation, it can have deep environmental and social consequences.

In China, the construction of the Gorges Three Dam, the largest current project in the world, requires 1.3 million people. A source of concern for the public is still, given the repeated concerns of the catastrophic dam. For the context, the collapse of the BanQiao Dam in Hanan County in 1975-which was the storage capacity of about six of the three Gorges Dam-approached nearly 230,000 people through primary floods, starvation and disease later.

The displacement and destruction caused by dams is especially sensitive in Tibet, as the Chinese government has conducted a period of decades of forced resettlement. This agenda, along with the practices of ethnic discrimination and cultural and religious repression, has accelerated under Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Only last year, the Chinese authorities violently took protests against another Tabti Dam project currently under construction, which would overwhelm an area of cultural and religious importance for several old villages and monasteries.

From Beijing’s point of view, the risk of building dams is not related given the potential benefits of carbon emissions and electricity costs. Cheap electricity does not concern not only for Chinese families but also for the industry, as prices per kilowatt hour range from 60 to 70 percent from Europe and less than 30 to 40 percent from the United States. Although China has become a global leader in renewable energy, it still depends mainly on coal generation to maintain low electricity prices. Megadam may help to compensate for this.

Any protests against the new Megam will not do much to change the minds of powers. Water control was a symbol of the government and legitimacy in China for thousands of years, what the foreign scientist Karl Witfagil called an example of “hydraulic tyranny”. It was assumed that one of the legendary founders of China, Yu The Great, was the first dam in the world.

Historically, giant water control projects sometimes led to a political catastrophe. For example, the SUI Brain (581-618) built the major channel for the transportation of men and weapons into a sterile war against a Korean kingdom, but instead it led to famine, rebellions and the final collapse of the dynasty.

Although the new Megam’s influence on Tamitin may only matter a few Beijing, it may have diplomatic effects worthy of observation.

The Sadd River, Yarlong, is feeding on the Indian Brahamabotra River, and while some Indian commentators believe that the new dam may help in controlling floods, others are concerned about its potential impact on water and irrigation supplies. In southern China, the Meking River-inside China itself and Chinese-backed projects in Laos and Cambodia-had a severe impact on the downstream countries.

Nowadays, the general discourse on the Tibetan Megadam seems to be a sorry of the Indian and Pakistani politicians to snip each other instead of a very severe reaction to Beijing. Hymanta Pessoa Sarma, Prime Minister of the Northeastern Aam County in India, claimed that Pakistan was using the dam as a “baseless attempt” to evoke the water crisis. It is a special import issue because India and Pakistan are in the middle of the tense negotiations on the future of Indus Waters.

There is no official completion date in the project; It took the three Gorges Dam over a decade, but the mountainous conditions in Tibet may make this more difficult. It is also very likely that the costs will work a balloon, as they tend to occur with huge Chinese projects due to legitimate difficulties and outbreaks.

What we are following

The exit is a ban for American citizens. New details have emerged this week about two American citizens being subjected to the Chinese exit-a long-term pressure tool in which a foreign visitor is prevented from leaving the country without being accused of a crime.

The latest cases include an employee of the US Department of Commerce and Wales Vargo Bank. The banker, Mao Cenio, Chinese ethnic, is likely to be the employee of the Ministry of Commerce, who was visiting the family, is also.

Beijing has constantly proved more ready to use this type of coercion against Chinese people, due to a feeling of diaspora ownership. Many of these cases included children or relatives of people who fled China, whom the authorities are trying to force the country to punish.

The strength of the force. Xi’s long -term priority was a “toilet revolution” in China. The project was launched for the first time in 2015, and it was referred to replacing the unpopular public toilets in China and a paper-they are still regularly by many people who lack toilets in their homes-with modern, shiny and healthy facilities. While it was originally targeted on tourist sites, over the years, the campaign has turned to provide relief to the poorest rural areas, despite mixed results.

But the toilet revolution is a mature feed for a classic Chinese government problem: when campaigns are directed from above, facilities are often built for inspections, not use. It is much easier to keep swimming, community center, or clean toilet if no one is allowed inside.

It turns out that this happens with rural toilets. A recent study revealed installations in JISHAN County in Shanchi, which are only open to inspection visits or activities closed in the rest of the time. This has led to an official investigation from the Jeishhan government – although it is unclear whether this is the first priority of the government.

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Technology and business

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While US Treasury Secretary Scott Payet claimed that August 1 is “a very difficult deadline for countries to reach new trade deals with the United States to avoid customs tariffs, he also said that the supposed suspension for 90 days is likely to be extended.

Looking at Trump’s record of pursuing threats on China so far, such as his constant rejection of imposing a legal ban on Tijook, Beijing has a good reason to contact Trump’s deception.

Railway upgrade. China is scheduled to upgrade the famous high -speed rail network, focusing on improving service quality and service technology instead of expanding the system, which has reached its target of approximately 50,000 km (about 31,000 miles) of coverage.

But as the prominent economic geography, if Dadu, the system remains expensive, exaggerated, and is reassured about corruption. The initial process of the construction of high -speed railways went on the budget and witnessed a lot of money that was embezzled to the point that the entire Ministry of Iron railways canceled. (A minister who supervised him is now serving a lifelong prison.)