Banqiao Reservoir Dam was also intended to control flooding downstream, and was eventually rebuilt for this reason. The choice wasn't between 170,000 people dea

Banqiao Reservoir Dam was also intended to control flooding downstream, and was eventually rebuilt for this reason. The choice wasn't between 170,000 people dead and resettlement of 11 million and nuclear power (which didn't exist at the time it was built - probably a good thing given the construction standard used in the dam). The alternative was that all those people died anyway, but you didn't get to use their deaths to attack hydroelectric power because China used something like coal power generation instead and threw away all the potential power of the water behind the dam.