Hello everyone, welcome to “News Talk.” Today’s focus is on the rescue difficulties in Dongting Lake, led by Wang Weiluo. The reason behind the difficulties lies in Beijing’s lack of trust in Liu Shaoqi’s son, Liu Yuan, resulting in the dissolution of the CCP’s specialized water conservancy force. Multiple reservoirs simultaneously releasing water and the early discharge of water from the Three Gorges Dam have caused flooding in Hunan!
On the 5th day after the breach of Dongting Lake in Hunan Province, the breach was finally completely sealed on the evening of the 8th, but there is still 2.1 billion cubic meters of accumulated water inside the embankment, equivalent to the volume of 15 West Lakes.
Chinese water conservancy expert Wang Weiluo, residing in Germany, believes that the breach of Dongting Lake was not solely due to excessive rainfall. Apart from simultaneous water discharge from four upstream river reservoirs into Dongting Lake, there are also political reasons behind it.
The authorities in Beijing, out of mistrust towards the second-generation red Liu Shaoqi’s son, Liu Yuan, exacerbated the delays and inefficiencies in managing water disasters.
Today, we invited Mr. Wang Weiluo to elaborate on the causes and consequences of the Dongting Lake breach in Hunan this year in detail.
We can see that after the first line of defense breached at Dongting Lake, there have been successive seepages in the second line of defense. The primary embankment at Tuanzhou in Hunan has not only been neglected in the initial 8.5 billion investment for reinforcement but subsequent defensive measures have been fraught with issues.
Mr. Wang Weiluo: Seepage phenomenon is a common occurrence on embankments in Dongting Lake area, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, or other river embankments. This is determined by the material of the land, as soil by nature is permeable. As soil cannot completely block water like cement, even cement is permeable.
When water can flow through the embankment relatively quickly, it forms seepage. It gradually develops into seepage, ultimately leading to a gap. This is a developmental process, taking some time.
In the past, how did they manage it annually? By patrolling, known as dike patrols. Since ancient times in China, particularly since the Three Kingdoms period, dike patrolling started in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. They continued to patrol until around 2010, 2012, or 2013 when dike patrols ceased. Why did they stop? It was due to the construction of the Three Gorges Dam.
After the Three Gorges Dam was built, reports say that in the past, when people patrolled the Jingjiang River, they dared not sleep at night. Farmers and locals had to patrol day and night for three months. It was akin to forced labor during the imperial times; you had no choice. It’s like everyone taking turns doing forced labor. What was the form of that like? It was like the night patrols during the Japanese invasion of China, striking a gong and chanting for peace. If they found seepage, they immediately struck the gong. Villagers would then come out to save the situation, and the seepage phenomenon would be promptly stopped.
Today, as the southern region continues to receive heavy rains, Mr. Wang Weiluo believes that this is not the root cause of the problem. The factors of mankind altering nature over many years in China have exacerbated this year’s floods. The mishandling of disaster relief and the internal struggles within the Beijing authorities are also contributing factors.
In 2018, major military reforms were conducted in China, including the establishment of the “PLA First General Battalion of the Armed Police Water and Electricity.” It is widely believed that this move was due to the party’s lack of trust in Liu Yuan.
The predecessor of the “PLA First General Battalion of the Armed Police Water and Electricity” was the “Eastern Field Army,” a unit recognized as the party’s dedicated water resources management force.
Mr. Wang Weiluo: The main cause of the Dongting Lake flood is due to multiple reservoirs in Hunan simultaneously releasing water into the lake. Hunan Province has the highest number of reservoirs in China.
China has nearly 100,000 reservoirs. Can you guess how many there are in Hunan Province? There are over 14,000 reservoirs. This accounts for around 15% of China’s reservoirs, all within one province. Some of these reservoirs are quite large with significant storage capacity. They boast about being capable of holding half the water of Dongting Lake.
During June 15 onward, nearly 10 large-scale reservoirs in Hunan began releasing water simultaneously. This led to the rising water levels in Dongting Lake.
The four major rivers in Hunan, the Xiang, Zi, Yuan, and Li Rivers, collectively known as Xiangzi Yuanli, all released floods into Dongting Lake. Consequently, this resulted in a substantial amount of water accumulating within Dongting Lake.
For example, the report from Pingjiang County near the Miluo River mentioned that there were over 190 reservoirs simultaneously releasing floods or overflowing their banks. This is just along the Miluo River. Now, imagine how many rivers there are in Hunan. All of these rivers, with their flood discharge, converge into Dongting Lake, overwhelming it.
Additionally, the Three Gorges Dam intermittently increased its discharge starting on June 10, reducing the water levels. This caused the water levels to rise significantly where Dongting Lake flows into the Yangtze River. Currently, Dongting Lake only has one outlet into the Yangtze River at Chenglingji, Yueyang.
When we talk about the water from Dongting Lake being the inner water and the water from the Yangtze River being the outer water, the local residents refer to them as such. If the outer water level is high, it prevents the inner water from flowing out smoothly.
The Three Gorges Dam began discharging water on June 10, increasing the discharge volume. This led to elevated water levels at Chenglingji, where Dongting Lake flows into the Yangtze River. Due to this, the floodwaters from Dongting Lake could not flow smoothly into the Yangtze River.
The final reason is that Dongting Lake has been extensively developed and fragmented. During the Han Dynasty and up to the Tang Dynasty, there were few records of major floods in the Yangtze River. Historical records indicate that the Yunmeng Marsh, later known as Dongting Lake, used to be a vast lake connected with the Yangtze River, absorbing the floodwaters coming from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, thus preventing floods. Hence, the Chinese saying that there are no serious flood problems on the rivers, only on the Yellow River.
After the Tang Dynasty, human activities leading to the reclamations and development around the Dongting Lake and Yunmeng Marsh wetlands increased. Since that time, the record for flood disasters along the Yangtze River began to rise. This record increased rapidly during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, particularly accelerating after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. The development rate of Dongting Lake was the fastest during this time.
Mao Zedong once praised Hunan in a poem, admiring the fields with thousands of layers of waves. He was referring to the Dongting Lake area, which had been extensively converted into farmland.
Especially after the initiation of the Three Gorges Dam project, people believed Dongting Lake’s flood issues had been resolved. This led to increased development around Dongting Lake, particularly the previously known flood storage areas along the Yangtze River bank. Permanent residential areas were built rapidly.
As a result, the water capacity of Dongting Lake has been decreasing progressively. Another crucial factor to note is that during this incident, the professionals handling the seepage at Dongting Lake were not skilled enough. In Chinese history, emperors paid significant attention to water management. They had professional teams dedicated to water management. For instance, the highly reputed team under Emperor Yu, known for its expertise in water management, played a crucial role in his rise to power. The modern equivalent of this is the armed police water and electricity force established after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. This specialized force, embedded in the military, has advanced equipment and expertise built over a significant period from 1953 to 2018. Their skill and equipment have been crucial in dealing with such water disasters.
Our reporter has learned that in the case of the Dongting Lake breach in Huayang County of Hunan on the 5th, authorities only informed the public and initiated evacuations after the incident occurred. Subsequently, they discreetly restricted and blocked local information.
Following this, the CCP ordered the grassroots party organizations and party member cadres in the disaster-stricken area to “take responsibility and lead the way,” emphasizing the importance of discovery and commendation. They also aimed to widely publicize the “heartwarming stories and noble spirits” of these individuals.
Thus, on the evening of the 8th, local officials arranged for a large number of people to gather at the breach site, waving red flags. The public criticized the CCP for turning delayed disaster relief into a performance and noted that the sight was “hard to bear.”
Currently, there is an estimated 2.1 billion cubic meters of water accumulated within the Tuanzhou embankment, equivalent to 15 West Lakes. This breach has left many people without homes, causing them to lose a lifetime of accumulated wealth.
Furthermore, questions have arisen from the public concerning the necessity of blocking the breach when the water levels inside and outside were equal.
Wang Weiluo: The political significance outweighs the technical significance. Technically speaking, there was no need to block the breach. Once the water levels inside and outside the embankment equalize, and the water ceases to flow, jerry-rigging a solution like this makes no sense.
If you rebuild the embankment, consider this: the water that had already entered the embankment needs a way out. If the breach was left, as soon as the inner water retreats—suppose the outer water level falls—the water would flow out naturally. By blocking the breach, the water would be trapped inside.
There are two possible scenarios: one option is to re-open the breach or create another opening for the water to exit. The other option is to use machinery to pump out the water, but this would rack up significant costs. Dealing with such a large volume of water by manual pumping is quite expensive.
Near Zhengzhou, there is a river called the Jialu River, which experienced severe flooding that year. Jialu was a water conservancy expert from the Yuan Dynasty and a Han national. He once said something profound, “It’s not the river attacking people; it’s the people attacking the river.”
Therefore, we can say this time it’s not Dongting Lake attacking people; it’s the people attacking Dongting Lake.
Many households in China display a banner reading “The Highest Good Is Like Water.” If there are constant floods, how can you say “The Highest Good Is Like Water”?
In the ancient text Tao Te Ching, they say water is so good because it seeks low places and avoids confrontation. Water that stays in low-lying areas where there’s no competition is safe and serene. Dongting Lake is naturally in a low-lying area and should not pose a danger to humans. But why are people competing with water? Why are they in conflict with Dongting Lake?
When water from Dongting Lake enters the farmland, it floods the houses because humans are using land lower than the water levels. So, when the water enters the land, it floods the houses. Are people staying in low-lying areas? If people are placed higher than the water, they would not face these risks.
From the large-scale floods in Zhengzhou to Zhuozhou and now the Dongting Lake breach this year, the authorities seem more focused on the “Xiong’an New Area” and other places for political reasons rather than addressing the lazy governance and negligence. The unannounced water discharge that led to significant losses for people in many parts of China has not been followed up with an apology to the people by the authorities. Instead, they see each disaster as an opportunity to praise the CCP.
However, Mr. Wang Weiluo believes that this year’s floods differ slightly from previous years.
Wang Weiluo: The breach of Dongting Lake has severe political consequences. Taking the example of the severe floods in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei at the end of July and the beginning of August last year, everyone remembers how disastrous it was, causing significant losses.
The water submerged Zhuozhou and Baizhou, as well as Mentougou. However, the reports declared the fi…
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