¾«¶«´«Ã½

Dammed if she doesn't

By Fred Pearce

7 April 2001

Dai Qing lives for one thing: to stop China’s Three Gorges dam being built across the Yangtze river. Why? She says it will displace 1.5 million people and cause devastating environmental damage. But she faces a difficult task. Perhaps an impossible one. Construction of the world’s largest dam is in full flow. And China isn’t in the habit of listening to dissenters, particularly a rocket scientist who abandoned hard-core Communism-and spying for Mao-to find fame as a writer. So shouldn’t she really be doing something else? Fred Pearce went to Beijing and asked Dai if it’s time for a…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New ¾«¶«´«Ã½ events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, today with our introductory offers

or

Existing subscribers

Sign in to your account
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop