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Chinese media unusually quiet about severe floods in southern China

蘋果日報 2020/06/27 21:56



Chinese media have made almost no mention of the severe floods that have rampaged through southern China for almost a month and people have turned to social media for news closer to reality.



News on the floods are nowhere to be found in the mainstream media in China, with the exception of China Central Television which occasionally ran short news bulletins on the floods described by some as the most severe since the communist takeover of China in 1949.



According to Chinese official estimates, as of Friday, around 13.74 million people have been affected in 26 provinces or municipalities south of the Yangtze river, resulting in 81 deaths and 744,000 people displaced with damages so far amounted to 27.8 billion yuan (US$3.9 billion).



"Had it not been reported by citizen journalists or the social media, there is really no way to find out what's really going on and how bad the situation is for the 12 million people [previous official figure] affected by the floods," one comment on social media reads.



"When China is experiencing what could be the worst floods in 80 years, Zhongnanhai [former royal residence now the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party and where top government officials work from] has been completely silent!" said another netizen, "[The government] has money to spare for grand projects overseas, but no money for its own people?"



The unusual absence of Chinese leaders, who were quick in the past to visit regions struck by natural disasters, has also sparked speculations. Their disappearance has fueled rumors of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river in danger of collapsing.

The fact that Yichang [the city in Hubei province where the Three Gorges Dam is located] is flooded could mean the dam's situation is really bad," a concerned netizen points out.



Some meanwhile have made a map of the areas along the Yangtze river at high risk of flooding should the Three Gorges Dam collapse.



Another post online said the water level of Yangtze river in Wuhan has risen by two meters already as the dams upstream the river started releasing flood water in reservoirs. Many fear that the regions downstream the river including Wuhan would be flooded in July and August which usually see the most rainfall in a year.

Click here for Chinese version.
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