--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

November 9, 2004
EDITORIAL
Saving Shangri-La

Progress in China is not easy to chart. Every step forward seems to be paired with a move back, in the direction of the hard Communist past. This pattern of advance and retreat requires constant analysis to determine whether the nation is moving, even generally, in the right direction toward more freedom, better laws and a cleaner environment. More recently, there have been a series of setbacks - the bridling of Internet traffic, the arrests of journalists, including a New York Times researcher, the uphill battle of farmers trying to hold onto their land against those who are greedy for development or cheap electricity.

One positive sign has been the opening of a public debate over whether to destroy Tiger Leaping Gorge. That debate is a step beyond a similar debate over the Three Gorges Dam - a fight the environmentalists lost. If Hu Jintao, China's powerful leader, is listening, he and his government will heed the calls of the environmentalists this time and preserve Tiger Leaping Gorge, a magnificent natural phenomenon, saving an important part of China's cultural and ecological heritage for future generations.

The gorge, often said to be the deepest in the world, is sometimes referred to as China's Grand Canyon. Others argue that the two-mile-deep ravine is the real location for Shangri-La, a magical and peaceful place described in the 1933 novel "Lost Horizon." In reality, the area is a Unesco World Heritage site that is inhabited by an estimated 100,000 people. Among those farmers and tribal communities are the Naxi, who practice a rare matriarchal tradition and preserve an ancient form of hieroglyphics. If they share the fate of thousands of others displaced by thousands of other dams in China, they will soon join the sad army of China's poor and dispossessed.

The argument for damming this treasured site is that the area, which is near Tibet, needs more water and China needs more energy. For months now, China's manufacturing districts in the east have suffered blackouts, a problem that has given more clout to those arguing for more dams on rivers like the one now roaring through Tiger Leaping Gorge. Such arguments are understandable, but they are shortsighted in the extreme when it comes to this site. This is one of the few unspoiled places in China, a destination for increasing numbers of Chinese and foreign tourists in recent years.

China's environmental movement is still emerging. But those who want to clean up the environment and protect what's still untainted are growing in number - as China enters the international marketplace, as an expanding middle class begins demanding a better quality of life and as the media and environmental groups give voice to the need for protections for China's air, water and land. Mr. Hu and his central government should heed those voices to ensure that economic progress doesn't damage the very people and places they should be protecting.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | RSS | Help | Back to Top