Tibetan Water to Save China? Chinese Discourse on the Great Western Route

• Published in: Large Dams in Asia pp. 33 - 60
• Main Author: Seeger, Miriam
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 2014
• Series: Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research
• Subjects: China; Great Western Route; Mankind-nature relationship; Political rhetoric; Water diversion
• ISBN: 9789400727977; 9400727976
• ISSN: 1879-7180; 1879-7199
• DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-2798-4_3

In recent Chinese political rhetoric concerning the promotion of the so-called Great Western Route of the South-North Water Diversion, participants in the discourse shape their arguments to meet both the demands of the internal debate within China as well as the government’s agenda, to strengthen their position. This is achieved by selectively appropriating those elements of foreign as well as (reinterpreted) traditional Chinese knowledge about water diversion that fortify the respective positions in the internal debate. In their arguments, the discourse contributors stress not only steady economic development that relies strongly on sufficient water resources as prerequisite for social stability and national integrity, but they also connect economic power with the iconic and prestigious aspects of large-scale hydro-engineering projects as a means of strengthening China’s powerful international position. By combining arguments found in foreign discourses and traditional Chinese models, the discourse participants aim to show that China can overcome her perceived weakness in contrast to Western countries and become a stronger and more ‘modern’ society. The domination and transformation of nature through large-scale water diversion is presented as the only means to save China.