Kwongwah, the world’s oldest privately owned Chinese daily newspaper in Malaysia, reported (December 14) that the U.S. State Department sponsored the Mekong Dam Monitor Plan, which it just introduced. The Mekong River, also known as the Lancang River in China, is 4,350 kilometers in length and flows southward through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Plan will use satellites to track the Chinese dam water level of the Lancang River in the upper Mekong, as well as the water levels of the dams in the downstream countries. The Plan will also collect data on surface humidity in the region and the natural water flow volume of the Mekong River. All data will be shared with the general public. Scientists working on the Plan explained that the Chinese dams are carefully designed to maximise the power generation to supply Eastern China. Monitoring data showed the design did not consider the impact on the downstream countries. That impact affects a total population of 60 million people, who depend heavily on the Mekong for fishing and agriculture. China disagreed with this assessment. 

(Comment: Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China, established Kwongwah Daily 110 years ago.)