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Residents and farmers who live along the Yangtze answer questions about inevitable changes the Three Gorges Dam will bring. A journalist recounts her missionary grandfather's story about "fleet-footed" trackers who had the dangerous job of pulling ships up the long river.
Watch the video clips or read what they have to say.
Q. |
Where will you move?
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| A. |
We don't know where we will move.
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We are going to move over there.
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We can't move there. There isn't any land. We couldn't live there.
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| Q. |
So you don't know where you will live?
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No, I don't.
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| Q. |
Will the government give you money?
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Money? I have no idea about any money.
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We will be given money to build our new homes.
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This is my homeland, I don't want to move.
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| Q. |
What if the government tells you to move?
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Well, if that is the case, then there is nothing I can do.
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Q. |
When you move, do you think your life will change?
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It all depends on the government. Maybe it will be for the better, or maybe it will be for the worse.
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| Q. |
Well, what do you think? Do you think your life will be better after the Three Gorges Project?
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I think it will be better.
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| Q. |
Is that what the government told you?
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No. That is what I believe in my heart. There is no point in the government making us poor instead of making us rich.
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AUDREY RONNING TOPPING,
American Journalist |
They knew that if one slipped they would have to cut them loose to fall to certain death rather than taking the whole line of coolies down with them. My grandfather had a great admiration for these fleet footed trackers who spent their whole life pulling junks up the Yangtze River. As a missionary he was always trying to convert the Chinese to Christianity but he never had any success in converting the trackers because the trackers knew that their whole life depended on the benevolent gods of the river. |
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Q. |
How do you feel about the move?
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It's fine. It will be the same. The new city is supposed to be better. It will be a better environment.
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| Q. |
Is the government going to help you with the expenses for the move?
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This has nothing to do with the government. If the country needs us to move then we move.
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| Q. |
Will the government help you build your home?
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This is in the future. I will worry about that when the time comes.
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