4 | Thursday, April 29, 2021 EDITION | DAILY CHINA Recycled fashion Heavy floods forecast in major river basins

By LI HONGYANG duty around the clock to prevent [email protected] flood damage. The , where three of the China is expected to experience Pearl River’s tributaries meet, also heavy flooding in some of its launched an overhaul of sites with major river basins during flood geological disaster risks, water season as this year’s climate condi­ projects and low­lying land to tions are worse than normal, the ensure safety during flood season. China Meteorological Administra­ From June, geological disasters tion said. caused by severe mountain tor­ Heavy floods may occur along rents are forecast to hit Northwest the Pearl, Yellow, Haihe and Song­ and Southwest China, the admin­ hua rivers because there will be istration said, adding droughts more rain than in previous years, will most probably occur in the administration said. , southern parts of At a recent work meeting, the province, northwestern Ministry of Water Resources’ Pearl province and the River Water Resources Commis­ Uygur autonomous region, where sion forecast that heavy rainfall precipitation will be 20 to 50 per­ may cause severe floods in two of cent less than in normal years. the river’s main tributaries — the On April 15, Hangzhou, Zhe­ Xijiang and Beijiang — during the jiang province, entered the flood main flood season from June to season, which will last until Oct 15, August. Hangzhou Daily reported. The Pearl River runs through The city’s Qiantang, Puyang and Children wearing clothes made from recycled materials take part in a fashion show at Lijiang Primary School in Rongcheng, the provinces of , , Dongtiao rivers are likely to see province, on Wednesday. Newspapers, plastic bags and delivery boxes were used to make the clothes to encourage children to live a more , Hunan and flooding exceeding alarm levels, it environmentally friendly lifestyle. YANG ZHILI / FOR CHINA DAILY and the Zhuang autono­ said. In July, Hangzhou’s Xin’an mous region. River Reservoir, the largest flood­ “Droughts and floods may coex­ control project in eastern China, ist in the basin during the season opened all nine of its floodgates to and shift from one to another discharge floodwater. It was the swiftly,” Tianli, chairman of first time the reservoir had done so Data shows Guangxi, said at the meeting held since its construction in 1959. in Nanning, the region’s capital. The local water resources Public helps uncover On April 20, Sanshui district in bureau has repaired most roads off Tibet’s Foshan, Guangdong, announced and greenbelts damaged by the that it had entered the early stage last flood and reinforced the city’s of flood season, and authorities water projects for the next, the solar power have prepared emergency sup­ report said. It has also upgraded environmental offenses plies including boats and water monitoring systems in areas vul­ potential pumps, with staff members on nerable to flooding. Teams target issues affecting people’s subject of public complaints. By PALDEN NYIMA The park has discharged an average and DAQIONG in Lhasa lives, report trouble in Jiangxi, of 17,000 metric tons of waste water every day since 2016, “far beyond the Project aims to improve The annual solar radiation vol­ By HOU LIQIANG concern to the people” in its mining capacity of its sewage treatment ume in the Tibet autonomous [email protected] sector. plants”, another release said. region is equivalent to 240 bil­ During their visit to Jiangxi in The administration of the indus­ safety of reservoir dams lion tons of standard coal, China’s high­profile, people­ 2018, inspectors found that some trial park has taken no measures at according to data from the latest oriented environmental inspec­ stone pits in the province had not tak­ all to expand the capacity of the scientific expedition on the tion teams launched earlier this en dust control measures. In screen­ plants, the release said. “Untreated, By LI HONGYANG “Some reservoir projects have ­Tibet Plateau. month have been listening to com­ ing work conducted by the Jiangxi a large amount of waste water was been damaged at different levels The findings from the second plaints from the public to shed Natural Resources Department discharged in a disorderly manner,” The central government plans by natural disasters including comprehensive scientific expedi­ light on environmental violations thereafter, officials reported 111 viola­ the release noted. to carry out risk assessment and excessive floods and strong earth­ tion on the plateau, reported by that have an impact on society, tions in 62 open mining pits in , It also said the managing authori­ reinforcement projects on its res­ quakes. This accumulated damage China Meteorology News, according to the Ministry of Ecol­ according to a ministry release. ty failed to address the foul smell ervoirs to increase flood protec­ will pose dangers,” he said. showed the capacity of photovol­ ogy and Environment. During recent random visits to 10 generated in the park amid exacer­ tion. “Hidden dangers of projects taic power generation in Tibet’s It has only been about 20 days pits, inspectors found none of the bating air pollution, which inspec­ According to the Ministry of involve faults in aging engineering areas below an altitude of 5,000 since the teams arrived in places pits had their violations adequately tors had reported when they visited Water Resources, by the end of facilities such as water releases meters is 12 billion kilowatts, with including Liaoning, and resolved, despite the Xinyu govern­ the area in 2017. Following evidence 2022, safety appraisals will have and water delivery structures. the total size of regional areas Jiangxi provinces. As of Wednesday, ment claiming they had rectified the from recent public complaints, been completed on about 31,000 Eliminating these dangers will that have the potential to develop the teams have exposed 24 viola­ problems in all of them. Three were inspectors still found a “pungent reservoirs. help projects meet flood control solar energy exceeding 340,000 tions, including some involving found to have no facilities for dust odor” in several locations. As parts of South China entered standards and guarantee safety,” square kilometers. water and air pollution, as well as control at all, the team said. “Dereliction of duty” in relevant flood season in April, reservoirs he said. High­quality PV power gener­ illegal launches of high­carbon pro­ The local governments of Xinyu’s government bodies’ supervision that can stop floods need to be Other benefits include improving ation exploitation is mainly con­ ducing projects. and was to blame for the lingering viola­ reinforced, especially damaged their storage capacity, water supply centrated in the east central area The teams are especially con­ “performed their duties in a half­ tions, it concluded. ones, the ministry said. capability, irrigation function and of Shigatse city, the northwest­ cerned with violations that affect hearted manner” while promoting The violations, which were found China has about 98,700 reser­ aquatic ecosystem, he added. ern area of Lhokha city, the south people’s lives, the ministry said. rectification as required. shortly after inspectors arrived, voirs, and more than 80 percent of The ministry has devised three central area of regional capital In a news conference on Wednes­ “They also casually ignored envi­ show that some local governments them were built between the 1950s measures to maintain scattered Lhasa and the western area of day, ministry spokesman Liu Youbin ronmental problems in the vicinity have relaxed environmental protec­ and 1970s, it added. small reservoirs: let local institu­ Ngari prefecture. also stressed the people­centered of the public,” it said. tion efforts amid the economic Of the reservoirs, 4,700 are large tions and State­owned enterprises Shen Yanbo, a senior engineer philosophy as a working principle in Launched in 2016, the central downturn caused by COVID­19, said and medium­sized and 94,000 are form an agency specifically for res­ with the China Meteorological the inspections. environmental inspection’s teams Chang Jiwen, deputy director of the small, the ministry said. ervoir protection, have the local Administration, said Tibet has “Though their work is still being are usually led by ministry­level offi­ Research Institute for Resources To eliminate risks and strength­ government purchase flood pro­ abundant water, sun, wind and carried out, inspectors have urged cials. Inspectors report to a central and Environment Policies, which is en small reservoirs, the central tection services from organiza­ geothermal energy resources. local governments to effectively rec­ leading group headed by Vice­Pre­ part of the Development Research government plans to allocate 12.5 tions or entrust the protection of “It is essential to properly tify violations in an orderly manner,” mier Han Zheng, who is also a mem­ Center of the State Council. billion yuan ($1.9 billion) and small reservoirs to large and medi­ develop and use these clean he said. ber of the Standing Committee of the The exposure has also demonstrat­ arrange for an additional 12 billion um­sized water conservancy agen­ energy resources in the region, “We want to win trust from the Political Bureau of the Communist ed inspectors’ clear stand in pointing yuan for maintenance subsidies cies nearby. and efforts to accelerate research people with actual rectification Party of China Central Committee. out any problems that emerge as the throughout the 14th Five­Year It piloted the measures in model on the complementary aspects of results and enable them to feel The managing authority of the country aims to stay on the path to Plan (2021­25). county or township­level areas water, wind and solar energy is increasingly more satisfied, happy Shenyang Chemical Industrial high­quality development, he told In recent years, the National that could choose one of the three expected to play a lead role in and secure.” Park in Shenyang, Liaoning’s pro­ China Central Television, adding the Development and Reform Com­ options. China’s goal of achieving carbon Authorities in Xinyu, Jiangxi, for vincial capital, was also blamed for teams’ determination to unearth vio­ mission and the Ministry of From 2016 to 2020, China’s peak and neutrality,” Shen was example, were blamed for failing to failing to address environmental lations will help local governments Finance have jointly spent 155 bil­ annual reservoir dam failure rate quoted as saying by the China address “pressing problems of keen violations that have long been the get back on that path. lion yuan from the central govern­ was 3 per 100,000 on average, the Meteorology News. ment fund on reservoir projects, country’s lowest in history and far Tibet is enriched with solar the Ministry of Water Resources below the world­recognized stan­ energy resources for develop­ said. dard of 10 per 100,000. ment and utilization, equivalent Customs keeping busy with smugglers Wei Shanzhong, the vice­minis­ “That was due to good reservoir to that in the Sahara desert and ter, told a recent news conference reinforcement work over the equatorial regions. that the protection of some reser­ years, and the safety of reservoir By the end of last year, clean By YANG ZEKUN China’s anti­smuggling customs voirs is weak, and routine mainte­ dams is generally controllable energy accounted for nearly 90 [email protected] departments have also strength­ nance is not in place. now,” Wei said. percent of power generation in 153 ened the crackdown on the smug­ Tibet. The region plans to pro­ Anti­smuggling departments cases gling of solid waste, epidemic vide 6.1 billion kilowatt­hours of across the country handled 1,058 of drug smuggling were handled prevention materials, guns and in the first quarter this year, electricity to 11 provinces and smuggling cases in the first three agricultural products. a year­on­year increase of 71.9 Largest mermaid show cities within the next three months of this year, up 92.7 percent percent. In Guangdong province, customs years. year­on­year, according to the Gen­ investigated five solid waste smug­ Li Zechun, an academician at eral Administration of Customs. gling cases, involving 506 metric the Chinese Academy of Engi­ The administration said that 718 In the first quarter, anti­smug­ tons of waste, from January to neering, said the comprehensive of the handled cases were related gling departments also handled 153 March. analysis of the region’s solar to taxes, such as smuggling refined drug smuggling cases, an increase More efforts were also made to energy resources is of strong oil products, diamonds, gold and of 71.9 percent year­on­year, and return such waste, with 36 orders practical value and innovative cigarettes, with these cases involv­ seized about 458 kilograms of of it successfully returned, thus significance. ing 24.4 billion yuan ($3.76 bil­ cocaine, methamphetamine and safeguarding environmental secu­ This achievement will provide lion). other drugs. rity. favorable support for the high­ In a released case, the anti­smug­ They continued to strengthen China has imposed a ban on quality development of solar gling bureau of Nanning Customs supervision at ports and promoted importing solid waste in any energy development and utiliza­ in the Guangxi Zhuang autono­ international law enforcement form and has forbidden the tion in Tibet, and it has laid a sol­ mous region teamed up with local cooperation to maintain a severe dumping, stacking and disposal id foundation for the accurate departments in March and arrest­ crackdown on the smuggling of of foreign solid waste in the planning and scientific layout of ed 11 suspects in a cigarette smug­ endangered species and relevant country since Jan 1, according to clean energy development in the gling case, seizing more than 2,400 products such as ivory and pango­ a circular released by the minis­ region, Li told China Meteorolo­ cartons. lin scales. tries of Ecology and Environ­ gy News. Later, the investigation showed A total of 64 cases of smuggling ment and Commerce, the that the group had smuggled about of endangered species and relevant National Development and More than 100 mermaid performers from around the country suc­ Contact the writers at 12,000 cartons since February products were investigated in the Reform Commission and the cessfully set a Guinness world record for a mermaid show with palden_nyima 2019, with a value of about 80 mil­ first quarter, up 16.4 percent year­ General Administration of Cus­ the most performers at Atlantis Aquaventure Waterpark in Sanya, @chinadaily.com.cn lion yuan. on­year. toms in November. province, on Wednesday. SHA XIAOFENG / FOR CHINA DAILY