Our correspondent in Taizhou, Chen Dong
It is currently the flood season and the major dams of Taizhou are facing the possible tests of typhoon disasters at any time. However, during this critical period, a shipyard in Taizhou took a review form with advisory nature as their "imperial sword," openly constructing a large cold storage within the dangerous range of the seawall dam, adding extra burden to it.
Yesterday, I went to Linhai Water Conservancy Bureau which manages this area to understand the situation but was informed that they were unaware of it. The Party Committee member in charge of this matter insisted that this plot does not belong to their management and they did not sign off on the approval. I obtained this review form and found that the name of the Party Committee member of the bureau was signed on it.
The large cold storage, over 20 meters high, is only 2.5 meters away from the seawall.
Recently, an anonymous citizen of Jiaojiang District in Taizhou City reported to me that there was a shipyard at the east side of the passenger terminal along Jiang Road in Suoshou Street, Jiaojiang District, where they were vigorously constructing a factory, posing a threat to the safety of the seawall dam.
On the morning of July 28th, I rushed to the shipyard named Jiaojiang Shuangxin Ship Parts Co., Ltd. At that time, the construction workers were busy building the factory. I saw that the set of factories was built more than 2 meters away from the slope foot line of the seawall, about 20 meters tall, with its shell basically formed. Many construction materials and waste were directly piled up against the seawall.
I invited law enforcement officers from the water conservancy department of Taizhou City to check the site. The law enforcement officers stated that the location of the factory construction was on the backwater slope. According to Article 27, Part One of the "Regulations on the Construction Management of Seawalls in Zhejiang Province," the area extending outward from the backwater slope foot by 30 meters all falls under the management and protection scope of the seawall, and non-public welfare buildings are not allowed to be constructed here. "However, because the land in Jiaojiang is tight, the government has supplemented regulations allowing the range to be shortened to 15 meters. But this factory is only about 2.5 meters away from the slope foot of this seawall, clearly not meeting the requirements."
Subsequently, I made a telephone contact with the boss of the shipyard, who indicated that he had the approval document from the Linhai Water Conservancy Bureau.
A review form with only advisory significance became the "imperial sword" for illegal construction.
In the morning of July 29th, I rushed to the Linhai Water Conservancy Bureau and found the Party Committee member Huang Huaiyuan in charge of this work. After hearing my statement, Huang Huaiyuan seemed very surprised, believing that this matter should be "locally managed" and does not fall under their bureau's jurisdiction, and he was unaware of it. "This seawall is a provincial-level seawall, and we do not have the authority to approve it."
I contacted the shipyard boss again. He claimed over the phone that the entity issuing him this approval form was the Linhai Seawall Management Office, a department under the Linhai Water Conservancy Bureau.
I then contacted Director Zhao Migou of the Linhai Seawall Management Office, who acknowledged that there was such a matter and admitted that the plot belongs to their management in Linhai. However, what they issued to the shipyard boss was a review form with advisory nature, not an approval form, because they do not have the authority to approve this seawall.
Director Zhao subsequently faxed this review form to me. I saw that due to declining business performance, Shuangxin Shipbuilding Company intended to switch to the aquatic products industry and needed to build a large cold storage for freezing seafood, requesting support from relevant departments. The seawall office provided constructive opinions below, requiring the boss to build the factory more than 5 meters away from the inner slope foot of the dam, ensuring the smooth passage of emergency roads. Moreover, this cold storage was defined as a temporary building, and if future seawall construction required it, the other party must unconditionally comply.
In the last column for the water conservancy bureau's opinion, I was surprised to find that the bureau leader signed "Agree with the Seawall Office's opinion" in bold letters, with the final signature being from Commissioner Huang Huaiyuan, who loudly proclaimed that "it doesn't fall under their jurisdiction."
Taizhou Water Conservancy Bureau explicitly stated: Strictly investigate illegal constructions and ensure the safety of the seawall.
Upon comparing the cold storage built by the shipyard boss with the requirements of the Linhai Seawall Office, there are still significant differences. For example, the shipyard was required to build the factory more than 5 meters away from the inner slope foot. Why can the "15-meter protection range" be reduced to 5 meters? The head of the Linhai Seawall Office explained that "if a safety argumentation is made, this range can be adjusted appropriately." But he also indicated that this is difficult to argue.
It is reported that this seawall in Jiaojiang District is 126 kilometers long, part of the "Thousand-Li Seawall" that the district invested 4.5 billion yuan in and took three years to build. It has been ten years since its completion. Director Xu Yunming of the Taizhou Water Conservancy Bureau said, "In these ten years, this seawall has experienced subsidence and many cracks have appeared. If it encounters a strong typhoon with high tides, strong winds, and heavy rain all occurring simultaneously, the resistance capability of this seawall is concerning." In such circumstances, if illegal constructions are randomly built around the embankment, it undoubtedly adds insult to injury to the flood prevention capability of the seawall.
Finally, Director Xu Yunming expressed that enterprises should strictly follow the review form opinions and execute accordingly. They will also urge Linhai City to handle the building legally according to relevant laws and regulations, ensuring the safety of the seawall.