The River of Life?: Mass Swimathon in Guangzhou's

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 021232

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TAGS: SENV ECON PGOV SOCI CH
SUBJECT: The River of Life?: Mass Swimathon in Guangzhou's
Pearl River

REF: A) Guangzhou 21212; B) Guangzhou 21192; C) Guangzhou 93

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1. (U) Summary: In a public display that harks back to the
Mao era, 3,500 Guangdong officials and local residents swam
across the Pearl River to promote environmental clean-up
efforts. Though Guangzhou is spending vast sums of money on
waste-water treatment plants, and is clamping down on highly
polluting factories, China's own pollution index rates the
water as unsafe for swimming. In a last-minute attempt to
clean up the water, cities upstream were ordered to stop
dumping sewage into the river prior to the event. The event
was hailed by the Chinese press as a success, while the Hong
Kong press noted the absurdity of a mass swim in a river
that is harmful to humans.

Whose Idea Was This?
--------------


2. (U) The Pearl River swimathon was first proposed by Li
Changchun, former Guangdong party secretary and now, as
Standing Committee member of the Politburo, one of China's
most influential leaders. In 2001, while he was still in
Guangdong, Li stated his hope that the Pearl River would be
clean enough for swimming within five years. Li reportedly
continued to follow up on the idea after he left Guangdong,
asking local officials about the swim during their visits to
Beijing. In 2002, then-Guangzhou party leader Huang Huahua
-- now Guangdong governor -- stated that the river would be
clean enough for swimming in 2005. It was former Guangzhou
party leader Lin Shusen -- recently promoted to acting
governor of Guizhou -- who finally organized the swim. He
was also the first to jump in the water during a trial run a
few days before the event.


3. (U) Large-scale public swims first became popular in
China during the leadership of Mao Zedong, who swam in the
Pearl River several times in the 1950s and made a much-
publicized crossing of the Yangzi River in 1966. Between
1967 and 1977, six more Yangzi River swims were organized to
honor Mao, peaking with a 16,000-person swimathon in 1977.
Since then, however, the practice had fallen to the wayside,
and no large-scale swims have taken place.

(Don't) Take Me to the River
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4. (U) Approximately 3,500 people, mostly employees of
government agencies or state-owned companies, participated
in the July 13 swimathon. The highest ranking officials
were Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua, Guangzhou Mayor Zhang
Guangning, and four Guangzhou vice mayors. Other citizens,
including neighborhood groups and students of all ages,
participated after being vetted by authorities. Most wore
Speedo-style suits, swim caps, and goggles and swam with the
assistance of brightly colored flotation devices strapped to
their limbs. Originally, press reports said 10,000 people
would participate, but in the days leading up the event the
number was scaled down. This owes in part to the decision
to make participation by some local universities voluntary
instead of required.

Bridge Over Troubled Water
--------------


5. (U) The river banks, viewing areas, and bridges near the
event were adorned with slogan-bearing banners trumpeting
patriotism and the "mother river." Several banners had even
been mounted on large floating buoys and were pulled along
by groups of swimmers during their crossings. The local
press reported that twenty scuba divers swam underwater
throughout the event. Police roped off the area where the
swimmers entered and exited the river, and access was
closely monitored. A sizable force of boats patrolled the
river, both to assist in case of emergency and to remove any
"suspended matter" from the water. To ensure that the river
was as clean as possible, Guangzhou, along with the upriver
cities of Foshan and Qingyuan, were required to stop dumping
sewage into the river in the days leading up to the event.
Numerous boats were tasked during the week before the event
to lift large debris from the river.

GUANGZHOU 00021232 002 OF 002



River Deep, Pollution Level High
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6. (U) Pollution in the Pearl River is a combination of
sewage and industrial waste such as ammonia nitrogen and
phosphorus. According to press reports, approximately 30
percent of sewage in Guangzhou is untreated. Nevertheless,
the city has made major efforts to clean up the river in
recent years: it has spent almost USD one billion to build
new sewage networks and wastewater treatment plants and has
pledged to spend more than USD two billion more. It has
also ordered most of the highly polluting factories to leave
-- though many have relocated to northern Guangdong, along
waterways that feed into the Pearl River (see reftels A and
B). Indeed, in December 2005, a smelting factory in
northern Guangdong discharged 1,000 tons of cadmium-carrying
waste into the river during facility maintenance, some of
which made its way through Guangzhou (see reftel C).


7. (U) Guangzhou papers have reported in the past that the
Pearl River around Guangzhou was "95 percent heavily
polluted" and "5 percent lightly polluted". According to
China's national water quality index, in which "1" is clean
and "5" is highly polluted, swimming water must meet grade
"3". Guangzhou's Pearl River usually ranges between "4" and
"5". However, a vice mayor insisted that emergency clean-up
efforts in the two weeks prior to the swimathon lowered the
water quality level to "3".

Pearl River Delta Blues
--------------


8. (U) Local press provided extensive coverage of the swim,
including a live broadcast during the actual event. Local
coverage was overwhelmingly positive, with photos and
quotations from triumphant swimmers. One local paper,
however, cited a local dermatologist who warned people with
open wounds to avoid participating. The Hong Kong press
clearly relished the opportunity to ridicule the event, with
the South China Morning Post pairing photos of filthy
waterways with jubilant swimmers. It also reported on a
prominent local businesswoman who tested the waters herself
before the swim and said she saw floating household waste
and felt sticky when she got out. She later came down with
diarrhea and an eye infection. Every swimmer we spoke to
after the event was unabashedly positive about the state of
the river. One local police officer told us "the water is
perfect now."

Comment: Stink or Swim?
--------------


9. (SBU) This event was an interesting throwback to an
earlier era. If the idea had not originated with a powerful
figure such as Li Changchun, it seems doubtful it would have
ever made it past the drawing board. Nevertheless,
Guangzhou has made real efforts to clean up the river and
has had some success -- Governor Huang was quoted as saying
the water was "no longer thick and smelly." And if the
ultimate goal of the swimathon was to raise the
environmental awareness of Guangzhou citizens, with the aim
of protecting the city's primary water source, it was a
resounding success.

MARTIN