China highlights progress on dam

The dam's reservoir will begin to fill in 2003

China's controversial Three Gorges dam project has moved a significant step forward just days before the ruling Communist Party begins a key Congress.

The blocking of the Yangtze river at the heart of the project was completed in the presence of Li Peng, the Party chief most supportive of the scheme, and carried live on state television.

The river's natural flow has now been stopped, and it is instead being channelled through diversion holes in the uncompleted dam.

Mr Li, a Soviet-trained engineer, called the project a "great achievement in the world's history of engineering".

The ceremony appeared deliberately timed to showcase the dam ahead of the Congress, when several senior leaders including Mr Li are expected to step down from the ruling Politburo in favour of younger men.

The project has been widely criticised for its $25bn price tag, possible environmental impact, and for the forced relocation of more than one million people. It will not be completed until 2009.

Gearing up

In Beijing, preparations continued for the Congress' opening. Security remained tight around Tiananmen Square, where more than 2,000 Party delegates will meet in the Great Hall of the People on Friday.

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A meeting of senior leaders on Tuesday agreed to expel one of China's most senior bankers from the Communist Party for corruption, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Xinhua said the case against Wang Xuebing, former head of China's biggest commercial bank, the Bank of China, and also a member of the Party's elite Central Committee, would now be handed to criminal prosecutors.

State media have said auditors found irregularities at the Bank of China totalling 2.7 billion yuan ($325m).

Top-level changes

During the Congress, a new generation of leaders is expected to take the stage. Jiang Zemin is due to retire as Party general secretary and is expected to hand over the state presidency next year.

The man tipped to take over from Mr Jiang is Hu Jintao, the current vice-president.

There has been mounting speculation about the fates of other senior leaders. Some reports said Mr Jiang was trying to force his liberal rival Li Ruihuan to retire early.

Secrecy surrounding the Congress makes it extremely difficult to know what is happening.