A senior central government official has admitted for the first time that the gigantic Three Gorges Dam poses serious threats to the environment.
His comments, reported in state media yesterday, signal a change in attitude of senior leaders to the dam before next month's party congress.
The leadership appears to be stepping back from the legacy of former president Jiang Zemin and former premier Li Peng , who pushed the project through 15 years ago despite widespread controversy, analysts said.
The ecological impact of the dam had been gradually emerging since test operations started last year, the director of the State Council Three Gorges Project Construction Committee Executive Office, Wang Xiaofeng, said on Tuesday.
These included soil erosion, landslides, pollution and a shortage of arable land, he told a meeting of local officials and scholars called in Wuhan to discuss the dam's problems.
Without timely and effective remedial efforts, these threats could lead to serious disasters, he said.