"Bloodline: A Record of the Construction of Dongshen Water Supply Project" book and video. From the perspective of individual life in a narrow sense, water resources are the most direct source of life. Although the mainland generously offered water to Hong Kong, the British Hong

"Bloodline: A Record of the Construction of Dongshen Water Supply Project" book and video. Photo courtesy of Guangdong People's Publishing House

Who can save Hong Kong, which has suffered from severe droughts and water shortages in history? This is not a question from heaven, but a question from the human world.

From the perspective of individual life in a narrow sense, water resources are the most direct source of life.

From a broad perspective of survival and development, water resources are irreplaceable strategic resources.

Hong Kong is surrounded by sea on three sides. Once separated from the mainland, it will be an isolated island in the sea. But while facing the sea, Hong Kong has always been backed by the mainland of the motherland. This is Hong Kong's greatest geographical advantage. Since the First Opium War, Hong Kong has been in complex geopolitics. For a long time, the British Hong Kong authorities have not only wanted to rely on water supply from the mainland to meet urgent needs, but also want to use Hong Kong's own resources to solve the growing water crisis and establish Hong Kong's local independent and self-sufficient water supply system. Some Hong Kong scholars call this mentality of the British Hong Kong authorities the "myth of Hong Kong's water supply." Although the mainland generously offered to supply water to Hong Kong, the British Hong Kong authorities did not want to rely on the mainland's water supply. In order to store more rainwater, they began to build the Plover Cove freshwater lake in 1960. This was the first reservoir built in the sea in the world. At that time, it was the reservoir with the largest surface area and water storage capacity in Hong Kong. It is expected to have a water storage capacity of 230 million cubic meters after completion. Since Plover Cove Reservoir is much higher than the horizontal line, six villages located along the coast of Plover Cove (Siu Kau, Tai Kau, Kam Chuk Pai, Wang Ling Tau, Chung Mei and Chung Pui) are submerged in the water. This is also a reason for Hong Kong compatriots to save The price paid in advance for water. However, before the project was completed, Hong Kong suffered a severe drought from 1962 to 1963.

There is a fact that must be clarified here. Hong Kong compatriots are different from the British Hong Kong authorities. When the country is in crisis, they are full of sincere patriotism and fight for the national disaster together with the rest of the country. During the bloody war of resistance against Japan, the Dongjiang Column had a Hong Kong and Kowloon Independent Brigade composed of Hong Kong compatriots. The Hong Kong and Kowloon Independence Brigade was like a sharp knife, piercing deeply into the heart of the Japanese army. And when they are in danger, as sons and daughters of China, they will also seek help from the motherland out of their life instinct. When Hong Kong is experiencing water shortages, the first thing our patriotic Hong Kong compatriots think of is their motherland. For example, Mr. Chen Yaocai, the then president of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Federation of Trade Unions, was originally from Baoan across the river from Hong Kong. He went to Hong Kong to make a living when he was young and participated in the provincial and Hong Kong general strikes led by communists Deng Zhongxia and Su Zhaozheng. Chen Yu, an old comrade who participated in the general strike in Guangdong and Hong Kong that year, was already serving as Secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and Governor at that time. While Chen Yaocai called Chen Yu to ask for help, he asked the motherland for help in the name of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Federation of Trade Unions. At that time, the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong was also requesting support from the motherland. The then president of the association was Mr. Ko Cheuk-hsiung, a famous business leader in Hong Kong. After his appeal, the crowd responded, and urgent telegrams for help flew to Guangzhou like snowflakes. and Beijing...

From the beginning, Hong Kong’s water shortage has attracted great attention from the motherland. Guangdong and Hong Kong were originally separated by a strip of water and connected by blood. Water is the source of life, and blood is thicker than water. The highest good is like water, which transcends all boundaries drawn in the world. At that time, Guangdong, especially the Pearl River Delta , was also suffering from a protracted severe drought. This is one of the nine major commercial grain bases in China and one of the most important main rice-producing areas in the south. In order to preserve this life-giving grain, people in the disaster area are digging canals to divert water, carrying water to fight drought, and carrying out production to save themselves. However, in order to help Hong Kong compatriots, Guangdong must give priority to supplying water to Hong Kong even when its own water supply is very difficult. After receiving the distress call from Hong Kong compatriots, Governor Chen Yu responded immediately: "In order to further help Hong Kong residents and solve their urgent needs, 20,000 tons of tap water can be supplied free of charge every day from Guangzhou City, or other appropriate places. Supplying fresh water to Hong Kong residents. "

At that time, the nearest water source to Hong Kong was the Shenzhen Reservoir . This reservoir, which has been playing a key role from that year to the present, was started in 1959 by the Guangdong Provincial People's Government in Bao'an County, and was completed in March 1960.At the completion ceremony, Tao Zhujiu, then First Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, told Hong Kong celebrities such as Gao Zhuoxiong who were invited to attend the ceremony: "After the Shenzhen Reservoir is completed, in addition to flood control and power generation, water can be diverted and supplied to Hong Kong compatriots if they need it. Hong Kong compatriots, help Hong Kong compatriots solve part of the water shortage problem." Subsequently, Guangdong and Hong Kong signed a water supply agreement, and the Shenzhen reservoir will supply 22.7 million cubic meters of water to Hong Kong every year. In order to meet the urgent needs of Hong Kong compatriots, with the approval of the Guangdong Provincial People's Committee, the Shenzhen Reservoir will provide an additional water supply of more than 3 million cubic meters to Hong Kong in accordance with the agreed quota. At that time, the water source and storage capacity of the Shenzhen Reservoir were quite limited, and it was difficult to satisfy Hong Kong's thirsty call. The additional water supply to Hong Kong was approaching the limit of the available water supply of the Shenzhen Reservoir. At the same time, Guangzhou supplies Hong Kong with 20,000 tons of tap water for free every day despite frequent shortages of drinking water. In May 1963, the Guangdong Provincial Government replied to Hong Kong, allowing Hong Kong to send ships to the Pearl River Estuary to obtain free fresh water. Previously, the British Hong Kong authorities had tried to send ships to Japan, Singapore and other places to buy water. Not only did they have to pay a large amount of water fees, but they also had to spend a large amount of oil money on long-distance transportation, and the freight was high. This was also Hong Kong has paid the price of "water is more expensive than oil". Even after paying such a high price, distant water cannot quench near thirst. The generous promise of the Guangdong Provincial Government allowed Hong Kong to obtain water nearby for free. Hong Kong immediately dispatched its first water carrier, the "Eander", to the Dahaozhou Anchorage of Guangzhou Huangpu Port to load fresh water. Carrying more than 10,000 tons, it alleviated Hong Kong's urgent needs. However, fundamentally speaking, this is not a long-term solution. So, where can we continuously inject a source of life into Hong Kong compatriots?

dongjiang ! During that dry and hot summer, the river was almost simultaneously targeted by both Guangdong and Hong Kong.

This is a river very close to the sea and the closest river to Hong Kong in Guangdong Province.

In June 1963, the British Hong Kong authorities sent representatives to Guangdong Province to discuss the supply of fresh water. After multiple rounds of negotiations, the two sides initially reached a plan to divert water from the Dongjiang River into Hong Kong and build a cross-border and cross-basin water diversion project. Subsequently, Guangdong Province reported to the central government and the State Council for instructions, and at the same time sent people to the Dongjiang and Shenzhen areas to conduct on-site surveys of water diversion lines. On June 15 of this year, the central government issued the "Reply on the Negotiation of Water Supply to Hong Kong" and specifically stated that "We are ready for water supply and have released the news, which has aroused good responses among the residents of Hong Kong and Kowloon. ". In December of this year, Premier Zhou Enlai came to Guangzhou. The leaders of Guangdong Province reported to him the plan to divert the Dongjiang River into Hong Kong and the many difficulties faced. Premier Zhou immediately instructed: "We must ensure that Hong Kong compatriots tide over the difficulties at all costs!"

Immediately! A prime minister of a big country who has many things to do all day long makes a decisive decision as fast as fetching water to put out a fire.

Subsequently, a project plan to divert water from the Dongjiang River into Hong Kong began to be operated at the national level.

This project was originally named Dongjiang-Shenzhen Water Supply and Irrigation Project, referred to as "Dongshen Water Supply Project".

At that time, our country had just emerged from three years of difficult times and was in a period of national economic adjustment. "The central government decided to suspend some other projects and go all out to build the Dongjiang Shenzhen Water Supply Project." To this end, Premier Zhou also gave this instruction: "This project affects the three million compatriots in Hong Kong and Kowloon, and the issue should be viewed politically. As a special foreign aid project, the project is sponsored by the state, and Guangdong Province is responsible for the design and construction."—— In the Central Archives , Premier Zhou Enlai's instructions are still preserved. In his instructions, he also emphasized that "the water supply project is sponsored by our country and should be included in the national plan. Because more than 95% of Hong Kong's own projects "Compatriots, it is more proactive to run the project on their own without their intervention." "The project should be comprehensively considered and constructed in conjunction with local agricultural benefits." As a national key project, the then State Planning Commission allocated a special fund of 38 million yuan from foreign aid funds.This special fund does not seem to be much now. At that time, my country's GDP was only 145.4 billion yuan, and fiscal revenue was only 39.954 billion yuan. The construction cost of this large water supply project was close to the national fiscal revenue that year. One thousandth of the ratio, this is "at all costs"!

More than half a century later, whether it is the builders who devoted themselves to the Dongshen Water Supply Project or the Hong Kong compatriots of that generation who experienced water shortages, they all look back on the past and sincerely sigh: "If it weren't for the deep love of flesh and blood, the blood of Connected, how can the country do whatever it takes to ensure that Hong Kong compatriots tide over the difficulties?" (The author is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese Writers Association, a member of the Reportage Committee of the Chinese Writers Association, a national first-class writer, and a "Special Contributor to Water Conservancy Literature Creation" by the Ministry of Water Resources! ", National Book Award winner. His major works include "River Plate", "Republic Food Report", etc.; this article is excerpted with permission from the third part of the "Introduction" of his book "Bloodline: Records of the Construction of Dongshen Water Supply Project", and the current title is Added by the editor)

Editors: Xu Ge, Zhang Yanwu

Source: China Youth Daily client