Resettled with dignity!

An article appears on the front page of China Daily today outlining some of the success stories behind the Three Gorges relocations. Part of the article focuses on people who have been sent to far-away places such as Shanghai or Guangdong, and the other part talks of local resettlement. Granted the article does talk of some of the difficulties that people have faced, but there is of course an overall rosy hue to the piece.

You know, I've travelled quite a bit in these areas and have certainly seen what I feel are better conditions than much of the western press portrays. But, where the western press sets its scope on the negatives, the Chinese press obviously on the positive, you have to think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Perhaps closer to one side than the exact middle, but the overall need to take both sides with a grain of salt is paramount. Any time you move 1.3 million people to far away areas, often with poor land and few job opportunities, you will have those that succeed and those that don't. The one part of the story that never seems to go away is the level of corruption on the part of the local governments responsible for the relocation.

Oh, and news just in that the water level will rise to 175m asl this coming September.