Popularized in 1998 when Premier
朱镕基 (Zhū Róngjī) inspected dike repairs after the Yangtze floods and angrily called the substandard work '
豆腐渣工程.' The phrase has since become the standard Chinese term for any shoddy public-works project — the image is concrete that crumbles like soybean dregs (
豆腐渣, the leftover pulp from making tofu).
