Economic Corruption: The Three Gorges Dam is the largest construction project since the Great Wall of China and has created an estimated 250,000 jobs. When the reservoir fills, 395 square miles of land will be underwater displacing at least 1.2 million people.

Some of the most fertile farms in China will be submerged when the reservoir starts to fill. Historians have estimated that 1,300 important archaeological and historical sites will be lost impacting the preservation of China’s past. Ancient temples and burial grounds will be among the lost in the flooding.

The Chinese Government is giving 300,000 farmers land away from the flooding reservoir that is less fertile. As the deadline for the project gets closer, many farmers are being intimidated and coerced to move. The government has allocated $4000 per person for relocation. Of the $3 billion already dispersed, 84% has been misused or embezzled. The people that have to relocate will see less than half of the money they are supposed to receive. The officials are using the money to buy cars, pave roads, and build new buildings for the government. Some officials have inflating the number of residents who need to relocate in order to receive more money from the central government while giving an unfair amount to the residents.

This has caused several protests in villages and towns affected by the dam. Two farmers who were getting petitions signed to protest the dam project ended up disappearing in 2001. One gentleman named Wen Dingchun had ten policemen show up at his house and cart him and his belongings away and he hasn’t been heard from since. His partner He Kechang was on his way to Beijing to petition the government over his displeasure when he disappeared.