By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Managing Editor, Impunity Watch

BEIJING, China – Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators forced the temporary closure of the Hong Kong government’s headquarters on Monday after they clashed with police as police used pepper spray and batons in an attempt to clear the streets for the morning commute of protesters outside in defiance of orders to retreat after more than two months of sustained protestors the streets of Hong-Kong. Chaos erupted in the streets as commuters made their way to work, with hundreds of protesters surrounding the Admiralty Centre, which houses offices and retail outlets, in a tense stand-off with police. The central government offices and the legislature were forced to close in the morning, as were several of sores.

(Video courtesy of The Wall Street Journal)

The recent clashes underscore the protester’s frustrations with the central government in Beijing for refusing to address their concerns. The government in Beijing has so far refused to budge on electoral reforms and grant greater democracy to the Hong Kong. Dozens of volunteer medics attended to several people who were injured during the clashes, some of whom were unconscious and others suffered head injuries. Police said at least 40 arrests were made as a result of the clashes with police.” The atmosphere in Admiralty is very different now after the clashes last night,” said Jessica Lam, aged 20, who returned to the protest site on Monday morning. “It has become very tense, like back to the early days when the protest just started.”

The democracy movement represents one of the biggest threats for China’s Communist Party leadership since the bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy student protests known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Protesters have continued to take to the streets in Hong Kong in what has become known as the Umbrella Revolution despite fears of government crackdowns.

China has been criticized for attempting to stifle stories coming out of Hong Kong during the historic protestors. The government censors stories from Hong Kong, filtering references to the protests on Chinese social media and news outlets. The government has also canceled a planned visit to the former British Colony by officials from the United Kingdom. In response to the recent unrest the Chinese government told a groups of members of the British Parlmement that they would be stopping a planned visit to Hong Kong, a former British Colony. Sir Richard Ottoway, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, accused the Chinese authorities of acting in an “overtly confrontational manner.” Sir Richard added that he would request an emergency Commons debate on the issue. He also added: “The real worry about this is that it sends a signal about the direction of travel that China is going on Hong Kong. Immigration is a devolved matter to the Hong Kong authorities, and it’s not for China to ban them.”

Earlier this month The House of Commons committee took evidence from Lord Patten, the former governor of Hong Kong, who criticized British politicians for not doing enough to support democracy in Hong Kong. He argued that the terms of the 1984 Joint Declaration between the UK and China, for the transfer of sovereignty to China which established a “one country, two systems” principle of governance, explicitly gave the UK a “legitimate” interest in Hong Kong’s future. “When China asserts that what is happening in Hong Kong is nothing to do with us, we should make it absolutely clear both publicly and privately that it is not the case,” he said.

For more information please see:

BBC News – China Blocks British MPs’ Visit To Hong Kong – 30 November 2014

The Guardian – Hong Kong Protesters and Police Face Off As Violent Exchanges Continue – 30 November 2014

Reuters – Hong Kong Protesters Clash With Police, Government HQ Closes – 30 November 2014

The Wall Street Journal – Violence Flares in Hong Kong as Protests Reignite – 30 November 2014

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

LHASA, Tibet – The Chinese government has announced that it has completed a major hydropower dam project on the Brahmaputra River, called Yarlung Zangbo River, in Tibet. The Dam, now Tibet’s largest hydropower station, became partly operational last Sunday. The Chinese government described the $1.5 billion project as a “huge project, which straddles the middle reaches of the roaring Yarlung Zangbo River, will have power capacity of 510,000kW after its four-year construction.” The Dam will be 116 meters (381 feet) high when completed next year. Beijing said the project would be useful in “harnessing the rich water resources of the Yarlung Zangbo River to empower the development of the electricity-strapped region.” An official from the Tibetan Electric Power Co. was quoted as saying “The hydropower station will solve Tibet’s power shortage, especially in the winter.” However the times of India claims the massive dam project will also most likely affect the amount of water flowing to downstream regions, including the amount flowing into the Arunachal Pradesh and other northeastern regions of India, where the populations are heavily dependent on farming for economic survival. Like other massive dam projects in China the dam has sparked controversy and fears that tensions may rise between China and its downstream neighbors. China’s massive hydropower projects have displaced millions of people throughout the country along China’s largest watersheds. The projects also reduce the natural flow of fresh water to downstream regions and disrupt the flow of natural silts critical for ecosystem and agricultural health, negatively impacting downstream communities.

The Indian government has previously expressed concern about damming the Brahmaputra River, arguing that the massive Himalayan watershed is a lifeline to some of India’s remote northeastern states, communities who depend on farming for survival. Last year the Indian External Affairs ministry urged China “to ensure that the interests of downstream states are not harmed by any activities in upstream areas” of the river, after state media reports that China planned several more dams in the region. However, New Delhi has had some difficulty arguing that the dam will create environmental justice concerns for its people because the Indian government has long supported the construction of massive hydropower stations along its own watersheds, despite the negative impacts on the environment created by those projects, especially in neighborhood Pakistan. S M Krishna, A previous Indian External Affairs minister has said New Delhi had “ascertained from our own sources that this is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric project which does not store water and will not adversely impact downstream areas in India.”

The Chinese Dam on the Brahmaputra is a run-of-the-river dam, a dam designer that creates a smaller retaining pool than traditional dam projects. Despite the argument that the flow of water from run-of-the-river dams is does not have a major impact on water flow these massive dams still have significant effects on the watershed. India has constructed several controversial run-of-the river dams in recent decades and is currently working on the massive Baglihar Dam project on the Chenab River in the Jemma and Kashmir region which resulted in a water dispute between India and Pakistan. The government of Pakistan has argued that the Baglihar Dam project violates the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan, a treaty intended to prevent armed conflicts over the flow of water between the two countries.

For more information please see:

First Post India – China Builds Dam on Brahmaputra in Tibet, Stokes Fear in India – 24 November 2014

International Business Times India – India Fears Natural Calamities as China Builds Hydropower Dam on Brahmaputra in Tibet – 24 November 2014

The Times of India – China Builds Hydroelectric Dam On Brahmaputra in Tibet, India Fears Flash Floods – 24 November 2014

India Today – China Puts First Brahmaputra Dam into Operation – 23 November 2014