Sweden and the E.U. are now financing hundreds of Chinese water plants, a project geared towards reducing CO2 emissions. But, recently a Swedish radio reported that it might not be so environmental friendly after all.
In a special investigative report, the Swedish National Radio recently aired a series of programs called, Climate Capital. It looks into global solutions for lessening CO2 emissions.
One of the programs focused on a Chinese hydroelectric plant in Tongwan, Hunan Province. Funding for the project comes from the global trade on emissions rights, whereby companies can buy the right to emit greenhouse gases.
The hydroelectric plant is being financed in Sweden on the basis of an authorized report of the United Nations and of the Swedish Energy Authority. According to these reports, the plant successfully meets the goal of being good for the environment and society. However, this conclusion might be based on false and biased information.
When the Swedish reporter of Climate Capital went to the power plant to see if these goals were being fulfilled, he wasn't even allowed to go to the affected locations. He was told that it is now a military area and was given a document by Chinese representatives.
The document stated that 100% of the people were satisfied with the project and the compensation they received. But, later on, he discovered that all interviews with the affected people were done under Chinese police surveillance. This fact was not mentioned in the UN report.
Swedish-China expert professor Michael Schoenhals also questions the figures and the research methods. He says the methods are probably flawed because it follows the often stated theory that Chinese people only think collectively, and not as individuals.
[Michael Schoenhals, Professor, Vid Lunds Universitet]:
Authorities often use this thing exactly because they don't want to answer questions like these, they don't really want to talk about the actual reality. Imagine yourself, you and everyone you know have lived there as long as you can remember and then suddenly it gets drowned. Its also traumatic, no matter the compensation, to see it disappear under water.
Schoenhals believes that what the Chinese people say when there are authorities around is often much different from what they would say in private.
Another disputed matter is the statement in the UN report saying that the hydroelectric plant is good for ecological stabilization.
[Christer Nilsson, Professor of Ecology, Swedish University]:
In my view it is propaganda! Theres no scientific evidence that the water environment should improve when building a hydroelectric plant. All available reports are pointing at the opposite [conclusions].
The water plant in Tongwan in the Hunan Province has directly caused 3,861 people to leave their homes when they became submerged in the project.
Although supposed compensation was handed out, serious questions are being raised about how aboveboard the Chinese communist regime has been.
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China, a country with 1.3 billion people who are pretty much slaves gets economic aid from Sweden, a country with 9 million people.
xplson 3 years ago
Chinese things that aren't what they claim, what a surprise.
ephesus 3 years ago