TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chinese media were hinting that the Three Gorges Dam has already done its best against the torrential rain and the flooding, suggesting the Chinese government was preparing to give up, reports said Tuesday (July 14).

A report by website NetEase called on the public to stop criticizing the situation at the dam, which is supposedly the world’s biggest engineering project, as it had already done its utmost in the battle against the floods. Many questioned the report, wondering whether it was preparing readers to accept that the authorities were about to give up the fight and “sentence the dam to the death penalty,” New Talk reported.

Chinese media said the Three Gorges project had initially protected the downstream areas of the Yangtze River Valley, but recent torrential rain in the provinces of Anhui and Jiangxi flooded those areas too, neutralizing any potential positive effect of the hydroelectric project.

In one village along the river, about 40 residents signed a statement saying they would fight the flood until death. The flooding has seriously affected livelihoods in many parts of China, destroying agriculture and aquaculture as well as making other economic activities more difficult.

According to recent official data, 141 people have died, 29,000 buildings have collapsed, and 2.24 million residents have been evacuated.