Hello everyone, welcome to “News Perspective”, I am Li Xin.
Today’s focus: US Assistant Secretary of State Sullivan visits Beijing and meets with Wang Yi, each saying their own words? Severe flooding in Huludao, Liaoning, officials cover up, thousands dead, villagers: words can’t describe the heartache!
Let’s start by addressing the flooding in Huludao, Liaoning. As mentioned in previous episodes, official reports stated that the severe flooding disaster in Huludao City, Liaoning Province resulted in “10 deaths, 1 sacrifice on duty, and 14 missing.”
The number of affected population reached 188,000, with a loss of 10.3 billion RMB, affecting electricity and communication for 128,000 households. However, the official death toll faced direct contradiction from the public.
Ms. Yang, whose hometown is in Huludao, revealed that although she was not on the scene when the flood occurred, her classmates mentioned the severity, with more than five to six hundred reported deaths. She mentioned a village downstream, Hanjiatun, where only five people remained. While official reports stated 10 deaths in Jiangchang, local funeral homes registered over 100 bodies. Public records show that Hanjiatun had a total of 224 households and 704 people in 2004.
She also mentioned that at Liugu River in Suizhong County, “five to six hundred bodies were left unclaimed, directly buried with cloth covering them.”
A villager downstream of Huludao reservoir also stated, “Only tens of people from three or four villages emerged, people sought refuge in our village, and no one has come to claim yet.” Another account mentioned a village in Heishanke where only two households survived, with the rest unaccounted for.
A Huludao resident stated that over twenty villages were destroyed, some completely devoid of survivors. His father participated in the rescue efforts in Jiangchang and described the situation as dire, with collapsed houses, many injured and deceased, “the river was full of corpses (referring to the dead).” Officials only reported 11 deaths, “but locals say the death toll exceeds a thousand.”
Despite the severe disaster, what are the Chinese authorities busy with? Concealment, reducing public attention, controlling civilian rescuers, sending text warnings asking them to “not believe rumors or spread rumors.” Some volunteers even faced temporary internet shutdown, preventing live broadcasts. Authorities claimed their statements involved sensitive information.
What caused such a devastating flood? Chinese officials attributed it to heavy rainfall but failed to mention flood discharge. Videos shared by local residents showed discharges at several reservoirs in Huludao, including Nanpiao Wujintang Reservoir, major reservoir Qing Shan in the middle reach of Liugu River, and Houshan Reservoir in Huishan County. Locals described, “the water flow was very rapid, everything was washed away. It’s clear there were over a thousand deaths.”
On August 24th, the Ministry of Water Resources finally admitted that during the torrential rain and flooding period, several reservoirs in Liaoning, including Liugu River Qing Shan, Shihedianfengkou, Xiaoling River Jinling, and Daughter River Wujintang, discharged water. Previously, reports indicated 26 reservoirs in Liaoning surpassed flood limits. However, discussions about reservoir discharge were prohibited on social media platforms.
Local villagers shared online, “Floods hit in the middle of the night, many couldn’t escape.” According to rescue personnel, floods arrived late at night, catching some villagers unaware. “One family was washed away, leaving only an elderly lady.”
A villager from Jiangchang County, Ms. Wang, said, “The reservoir discharged water like big waves, submerging everything, leaving us homeless. The reservoir was privately managed. Why didn’t they discharge water at the beginning? Afraid of fish losses, but when the water level rises, they must release water.”
On August 20th, a villager from Jiangchang County, Chen Yi (alias), revealed that officials increased the discharge rate at Gongsanju Reservoir in the evening to “500 cubic meters per second.”
On August 19th, the Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters of Jiangchang County issued a notice stating that the water level at Gongsanju Reservoir had reached the flood limit, releasing water at a rate of 50 cubic meters per second from 3 p.m., with a planned discharge for 7 days.
Chinese reservoirs have what’s known as a flood limit level. The flood limit level is the water level not to be exceeded during the flood season, requiring water discharge when exceeded. However, water resources expert Wang Weiluo stated this level is a lower level within reservoirs to allow for flood storage. “You can’t release water just because it exceeds the flood limit; otherwise, there’s zero flood storage. Why release water once it surpasses the flood limit now? It’s because Chinese authorities establish dam custodial responsibility, and managers fear dam collapse due to poor quality, hence prefer releasing water in advance.”
Wang Weiluo noted there are nearly 100,000 reservoirs in China, with three-quarters considered unsafe.
On August 27th, the 7th day of the flood disaster, severely affected villages in Jiangchang County, Huludao, still showcased roads obscured by exposed riverbeds and sludge.
Under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, several torrential rains can lead to hundreds of thousands affected, thousands dead. This year’s disasters from heavy rainfall are not limited to Huludao. The primary cause behind it largely stems from man-made dam discharges.
In June 2024, official reports detailed heavy rainfall in Pingyuan County, Meizhou City, Guangdong, resulting in 38 deaths, 2 missing, severe damage across 8 townships. The affected population amounted to 50,000. In July, various regions in China faced torrential rain, with the Ministry of Emergency Management reporting 315 deaths and disappearances due to flash floods and economic losses of 67.71 billion RMB.
The people under the Chinese Communist Party are reeling from the onslaught of natural disasters and man-made calamities.
US National Security Assistant Jake Sullivan arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, August 27, to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
During a media briefing preceding their closed-door meeting on Tuesday, both parties appeared to speak different languages without much consensus. Sullivan mentioned that both US and Chinese leaders explicitly expressed commitment to responsibly manage bilateral relations.
He aimed to expand dialogue between the two nations’ militaries to operational levels, hoping to prevent conflicts in specific regions such as the Taiwan Strait.
In fact, the US and China have significant disagreements on various issues including the Middle East, Ukraine, Taiwan, South China Sea, trade, among others. Enhancing military dialogues aims to avoid accidental clashes, enabling more communication opportunities before military conflicts.
In a recent press briefing, the White House made it clear they were seeking an opportunity for a summit between the two leaders before the year’s end. Therefore, Sullivan’s visit will likely not yield substantial progress and could serve as preparation for the last Biden-Xi meeting before Biden’s term ends.
Sullivan’s visit will undoubtedly touch upon a crucial issue for the US, which is fentanyl. Fentanyl is a leading cause of fatal drug overdoses in the US, becoming one of the most critical domestic political issues. Both US parties are unable to overlook it and have urged China for years to address the problem. The US hopes Beijing takes more actions domestically to prevent the development of chemicals that could be processed into fentanyl.
Currently, fentanyl reigns as the deadliest drug in US history nationwide. Fentanyl, a synthetic derivative of heroin, is many times more potent, with a lethal dose of only 3 milligrams compared to 30 milligrams of heroin. Fentanyl is even referred to as a chemical weapon, rapidly inundating American streets.
According to the DEA, synthetic opioids killed nearly 38,000 Americans in the first half of last year. Data from the UCLA Medical Center indicated that in 2022, nearly 22 high school students died weekly of drug overdoses, mostly from counterfeit drugs laced with fentanyl.
Many question why such drugs proliferate in the US and why traffickers dare to do so recklessly.
San Joaquin County Prosecutor and Deputy Prosecutor Cindy De Silva stated, “Our challenge is the precursor to synthetic drugs produced in China, supported by China… then smuggled to Latin America.”
“It’s intentional by China… Fentanyl is highly addictive, making users instantly addicted, they intentionally create addictive drugs… to ensure a lifetime of addicted customers,” De Silva said.
On April 16, after months of investigation, the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China released a report detailing the role of the Chinese Communist Party in the fentanyl crisis in the US.
This significant investigation report revealed how the Chinese Communist Party indirectly helped the export of fentanyl materials and other synthetic drugs through subsidies and rewards. The report stated this was part of China’s “drug war” against America.
Children in the US suffer greatly in this “drug war.” Kids may unknowingly purchase counterfeit drugs laced with fentanyl via social media or come into contact with fentanyl at home, leading to fatalities.
Today’s society faces a global epidemic of drug abuse, stemming largely from the countercultural movement of the 1960s. During this era, hippies sought to break traditional values, seeing them as oppressive to human nature. They sought to construct an entirely different moral, belief, and lifestyle framework. They discovered various psychedelic drugs and stimulants that could lead them to see a drastically different reality from the mundane world. Many among these youth exhibited interest in Eastern spirituality, and psychedelic drugs seemed to shortcut the spiritual experiences without the effort of meditation or inner cultivation. Instead, a mere intake of psychedelic drugs could offer them spiritual insights within hallucinations.
Unbeknownst to many, drug use essentially surrenders one’s body to the devil, subjecting them to the control of lower spirits, unassociated with cultivation. The consequences are very dire. Hence, it is crucial to walk the right path as one can’t be obsessed with outcomes, for the devil creates illusions, making individuals believe shortcuts lead to desired outcomes, only to pull them into hell.
Thank you for watching today’s “News Perspective”, I am Li Xin, and we’ll see you next time.
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“News Perspective” Production Team