Wang Zhenyao's office looks like a battlefield command station.
On the wall behind his desk hangs a large poster printed with the four levels of disaster response.
To the right hangs a large satellite map of Beichuan county, one of the areas hit hardest by the May 12 earthquake.
"How we respond to a disaster is similar with how we react in a war," Wang said.
He had been the top disaster and relief official during the most devastating quake in three decades before assuming his current post last month as head of the Social Welfare and Charity Promotion Department.
Under orders from Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu, Wang and his staff set up an office in Chengdu on May 15.
He had set foot in nearly every quake-affected county within 15 days.
"We fought hard, responded quickly and effectively, and we won," he said of the disaster relief work.
He said the success was due to a number of factors.
"It was because the country spent years establishing natural disaster rescue and relief systems, building up charitable organizations, advancing ideas stemming from international cooperation, developing technologies, and coordinating among various ministries and the military."
In 1998, the State Council issued the China Disaster Reduction Plan . And in 2005, the country set up a national commission on disaster reduction and prevention with coordinating offices at local levels.
The ministry has developed a four-level emergency-response system, which ensured the delivery of food and goods to quake victims within 24 hours, he said.
"It is hard to win a battle like this without experience or coordination."
Although he has long known China has more natural disasters than any other country, Wang said he was shocked by the scale of the earthquake, and by the rescue and relief efforts it required.
"So many people died. The survivors asked for food, water and tents," he recalled.
The most challenging moment was when Sichuan's provincial government asked him for 3 million tents on May 21, he said.
"Our stocks were running out, and there was no time to manufacture enough tents," he recalled.
Previously, the demand for tents had averaged about 10,000 every year.
In response, Wang and his office developed a strategy in which each province would assist one quake-affected county. The move proved effective, he said.
"The 21 provinces were like 21 big cranes, and the problem was solved in three days," he said.
Wang said many losses could have been avoided if disaster-prevention measures had been observed.
He often cited the example of Sangzao high school, where about 2,300 faculty members and students made it out of the building unscathed because they had run fire drills before.
Only 5 percent of Chinese have ever done a fire drill, he said.
Source: China Daily
Monday, October 6, 2008
Central gov't investigates deadly N China landslide
The State Council, China's Cabinet, is launching an investigation into a landslide that killed 44 people in the northern Shanxi Province in August.
A 49-member team, headed by State Administration of Work Safety deputy director Wang Dexue, consists of senior officials from the Ministry of Supervision, Ministry of Land and Resources, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Shanxi provincial government.
The landslide toppled a waste dump of a local iron mine and buried Sigou Village on Aug. 1. Its severity was initially down played by local authorities.
Eleven bodies were found Aug. 16, and the death toll given by the local government stopped there. Families complained at least 30 others had been trapped under more than 800,000 cubic meters of rocks and waste from the mine.
After public anger over the accident grew, the central government sent investigators to Loufan September 20.
Rescue work has now ended and the final death toll stands at 44,the Taiyuan city government said during a meeting with the central government investigation team Monday.
During a site survey of the iron mine on Sunday, Wang Dexue said the accident was a result of human error. Workers at the iron mine dumped too much waste on loose earth and local safety authorities failed to evacuate villagers in time.
The exact number of people trapped in the landslide was unknown for weeks because most of the victims were migrants and were not registered at the local public security bureau.
The official website of the Loufan county government said Sigouvillage had 276 migrants as of November 2007, including 150 from the northwestern Gansu Province and 56 from the neighboring county of Jiaocheng.
They made about 100 yuan a day by collecting pieces of iron ore from the dump and reselling them.
The waste dump, within 200 meters from the village, belongs to Jianshan Iron Mine. It was operated by Taiyuan Iron and Steel Company Ltd.
Chinese law states, such dumps should be at least 500 meters from residential areas and should have embankments or walls to contain dust or prevent landslides. The dump near Sigou, however, had none.
The Loufan county government had planned to relocate Sigou Village but villagers and mine authorities could not agree on compensation. Villagers said the newly planned village didn't have enough arable land to sustain farmers.
Loufan county is about 97 kilometers from Taiyuan's city center.
Source: Xinhua
A 49-member team, headed by State Administration of Work Safety deputy director Wang Dexue, consists of senior officials from the Ministry of Supervision, Ministry of Land and Resources, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Shanxi provincial government.
The landslide toppled a waste dump of a local iron mine and buried Sigou Village on Aug. 1. Its severity was initially down played by local authorities.
Eleven bodies were found Aug. 16, and the death toll given by the local government stopped there. Families complained at least 30 others had been trapped under more than 800,000 cubic meters of rocks and waste from the mine.
After public anger over the accident grew, the central government sent investigators to Loufan September 20.
Rescue work has now ended and the final death toll stands at 44,the Taiyuan city government said during a meeting with the central government investigation team Monday.
During a site survey of the iron mine on Sunday, Wang Dexue said the accident was a result of human error. Workers at the iron mine dumped too much waste on loose earth and local safety authorities failed to evacuate villagers in time.
The exact number of people trapped in the landslide was unknown for weeks because most of the victims were migrants and were not registered at the local public security bureau.
The official website of the Loufan county government said Sigouvillage had 276 migrants as of November 2007, including 150 from the northwestern Gansu Province and 56 from the neighboring county of Jiaocheng.
They made about 100 yuan a day by collecting pieces of iron ore from the dump and reselling them.
The waste dump, within 200 meters from the village, belongs to Jianshan Iron Mine. It was operated by Taiyuan Iron and Steel Company Ltd.
Chinese law states, such dumps should be at least 500 meters from residential areas and should have embankments or walls to contain dust or prevent landslides. The dump near Sigou, however, had none.
The Loufan county government had planned to relocate Sigou Village but villagers and mine authorities could not agree on compensation. Villagers said the newly planned village didn't have enough arable land to sustain farmers.
Loufan county is about 97 kilometers from Taiyuan's city center.
Source: Xinhua
Notice of soliciting articles on 30th anniversary of China's reform and opening up
The Communist Party of China made a major policy decision on reform and opening-up at the Third Plenum of its 11 CPC Central Committee held in late 1978 and opened a new historical period for China's reform and opening-up. In the last three decades, earth-shaking changes have taken place in China, and many foreign friends have also personally witnessed this epoch through their direct or indirect contact or engagement with the country.
To this end, People's Daily Online sponsors the solicitation of articles . You are invited to share your stories about China, and your contributions can be a photo, an episode of affection or comradeship, a story, a personal trip or even a souvenir, so as to share with us things about the country's changes and development.
I. Sponsor:
People's Daily Online English/Russian/Japanese/Spanish, Arabic channels
II. Participating objects:
Readers, both Chinese and aliens who are interested in China's reform and opening-up
III. The duration for contributions:
Deadline: 31 December 2008
IV. Points for attention:
1. Topics: Human interest story; written thought or reflections, blessings or wishes; and figure photos.
2. Genre and writing requirements:
Your article should be written in English, Russia, Japanese, French, Spanish and Arabic languages with no special limits to set on the genre and the number of words; photos, stories, written reflections, blessings or wishes, poems or any other things relating to China will all do. The timing for the theme of your works should be confined to the past three decades of reform and opening-up from 1978 to 2008.
3. Please send stories to english@peopledaily.com.cn
IV. Excellent stories will be published at the websites in corresponding languages of People's Daily Online.
To this end, People's Daily Online sponsors the solicitation of articles . You are invited to share your stories about China, and your contributions can be a photo, an episode of affection or comradeship, a story, a personal trip or even a souvenir, so as to share with us things about the country's changes and development.
I. Sponsor:
People's Daily Online English/Russian/Japanese/Spanish, Arabic channels
II. Participating objects:
Readers, both Chinese and aliens who are interested in China's reform and opening-up
III. The duration for contributions:
Deadline: 31 December 2008
IV. Points for attention:
1. Topics: Human interest story; written thought or reflections, blessings or wishes; and figure photos.
2. Genre and writing requirements:
Your article should be written in English, Russia, Japanese, French, Spanish and Arabic languages with no special limits to set on the genre and the number of words; photos, stories, written reflections, blessings or wishes, poems or any other things relating to China will all do. The timing for the theme of your works should be confined to the past three decades of reform and opening-up from 1978 to 2008.
3. Please send stories to english@peopledaily.com.cn
IV. Excellent stories will be published at the websites in corresponding languages of People's Daily Online.
China discovers oil, gas well in Bohai Bay
China National Offshore Oil Company Limited announced Monday it had found a new oil and gas well in east China's Bohai Bay.
The well, named Bozhong 35-2-2, is located to the east of the Yellow River mouth. The well was drilled to a total depth of 3,235 meters.
During the drill stem test, the well flowed at an average rate of 560 barrels of oil per day.
The CNOOC Ltd. has made several oil and gas discoveries in the Bohai area this year, including wells named BZ 35-2, KL 3-2 and KL10-1.
CNOOC Ltd. holds 100 percent interests of the new discovery and has successfully completed the drilling process, according to the company.
Listed in Hong Kong and New York, CNOOC Ltd. is the subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corp., the country's largest offshore oil producer.
CNOOC produced 72.9 million barrels of crude oil and 112.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas in the first half of the year, up 7.1 percent and 12.8 percent from the same period last year, respectively.
Source: Xinhua
The well, named Bozhong 35-2-2, is located to the east of the Yellow River mouth. The well was drilled to a total depth of 3,235 meters.
During the drill stem test, the well flowed at an average rate of 560 barrels of oil per day.
The CNOOC Ltd. has made several oil and gas discoveries in the Bohai area this year, including wells named BZ 35-2, KL 3-2 and KL10-1.
CNOOC Ltd. holds 100 percent interests of the new discovery and has successfully completed the drilling process, according to the company.
Listed in Hong Kong and New York, CNOOC Ltd. is the subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corp., the country's largest offshore oil producer.
CNOOC produced 72.9 million barrels of crude oil and 112.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas in the first half of the year, up 7.1 percent and 12.8 percent from the same period last year, respectively.
Source: Xinhua
Large molybdenum mine found in south China
A large field containing rich deposits of rare molybdenum has been found in south China's island province of Hainan, local authorities said here.
Molybdenum is a hard, silvery mineral mainly used in toughening alloy steels and softening tungsten alloys. It is used in aviation, construction and military material manufacturing industries.
The proven reserves of the mine in Baoting County are estimated at 254,000 tons worth of more than 100 billion yuan , making it one of the 10 largest molybdenum mines in the country, according to a statement from the Hainan Provincial Mining Association on Sunday.
Hainan Jinzhoucheng Molybdenum Co. Ltd, which received the exploration rights of the mine last year, is expected to invest 1.5 billion yuan to build it into a top five molybdenum company in China with an annual production capacity of 10 million tons.
The mine is expected to produce 7,000 tons of molybdenum annually with sales revenue of 1.3 billion yuan. The infrastructure construction will be completed in two years.
Source: Xinhua
Molybdenum is a hard, silvery mineral mainly used in toughening alloy steels and softening tungsten alloys. It is used in aviation, construction and military material manufacturing industries.
The proven reserves of the mine in Baoting County are estimated at 254,000 tons worth of more than 100 billion yuan , making it one of the 10 largest molybdenum mines in the country, according to a statement from the Hainan Provincial Mining Association on Sunday.
Hainan Jinzhoucheng Molybdenum Co. Ltd, which received the exploration rights of the mine last year, is expected to invest 1.5 billion yuan to build it into a top five molybdenum company in China with an annual production capacity of 10 million tons.
The mine is expected to produce 7,000 tons of molybdenum annually with sales revenue of 1.3 billion yuan. The infrastructure construction will be completed in two years.
Source: Xinhua
Over 60% foreigners believe China will be the world's largest economy in the next 20 years
In recent days, the large-scale survey "China in the eyes of the world " was released in Beijing. The main recipients of the survey are foreigners who came to China during the Olympic Games. A detailed questionnaire on their impression of China and their awareness of Chinese culture, the Olympic experience, as well as impression of China's economy and so on is given to the recipients. The survey involved recipients from more than 20 countries in Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, Latin America and Australia. Survey results show that through Beijing Olympic Games, people from all over the world not only deepened the understanding of China, but were full of expectation for the future development of China.
Most of the foreigners not only praise China's economy at present, but also are very optimistic about China's future economic development. More than 60% of foreigners think China will become the world's largest economy in next 20 years.
A high proportion of foreign respondents used to have very limited knowledge of China's present development. During the Olympics, foreigners who came to China greatly changed their perception of Chinese economy, particularly in people's living standards and economic development level. Foreigners did not expect China to have achieved so much. China's economic development is so impressive that after foreigners came to China, various indicators of their evaluation of China's economy saw obvious increase.
China's economic development leads to a substantial rise in China's brand awareness, and China's brand culture made rapid integration into the world. The results of this survey show that Lenovo, China Mobile and other Chinese brands are well known among foreigners and the awareness of these two brands reached 58% and 52%. As China's fast-moving consumer goods brand, Yili has won 14% of awareness in foreigners through its Olympic sponsor marketing strategy which is relatively high. During the Olympics, Li Ning, as one of those who made most prominent marketing performance, ranked at the forefront of the investigation of the "most impressive brand during the Olympics". This shows that the Li Ning brand uses small awareness-winning costs but made relatively big impression, which is inseparable from Li Ning's personal influence and the impact of the Olympics on brand awareness.
It is worth noting that although China's economy has grown rapidly, 64% of foreign respondents believe that China's economic development comes at a cost, such as environmental problems. China's environmental protection efforts have been recognized, though there is still a long way to go to gain wide acceptance. Of the comparative survey on the same issue, Chinese people show a much more optimistic view of the country's economic development. 60% of the respondents think that China's economic development is a sustainable, healthy and rapid development.
By People's Daily Online
Most of the foreigners not only praise China's economy at present, but also are very optimistic about China's future economic development. More than 60% of foreigners think China will become the world's largest economy in next 20 years.
A high proportion of foreign respondents used to have very limited knowledge of China's present development. During the Olympics, foreigners who came to China greatly changed their perception of Chinese economy, particularly in people's living standards and economic development level. Foreigners did not expect China to have achieved so much. China's economic development is so impressive that after foreigners came to China, various indicators of their evaluation of China's economy saw obvious increase.
China's economic development leads to a substantial rise in China's brand awareness, and China's brand culture made rapid integration into the world. The results of this survey show that Lenovo, China Mobile and other Chinese brands are well known among foreigners and the awareness of these two brands reached 58% and 52%. As China's fast-moving consumer goods brand, Yili has won 14% of awareness in foreigners through its Olympic sponsor marketing strategy which is relatively high. During the Olympics, Li Ning, as one of those who made most prominent marketing performance, ranked at the forefront of the investigation of the "most impressive brand during the Olympics". This shows that the Li Ning brand uses small awareness-winning costs but made relatively big impression, which is inseparable from Li Ning's personal influence and the impact of the Olympics on brand awareness.
It is worth noting that although China's economy has grown rapidly, 64% of foreign respondents believe that China's economic development comes at a cost, such as environmental problems. China's environmental protection efforts have been recognized, though there is still a long way to go to gain wide acceptance. Of the comparative survey on the same issue, Chinese people show a much more optimistic view of the country's economic development. 60% of the respondents think that China's economic development is a sustainable, healthy and rapid development.
By People's Daily Online
Deadly knife attack in south China
A man killed three people and injured four others during a family dispute in Shenzhen Monday.
The man was captured on site by police who received reports of the attack, said an officer with the local police bureau.
He stabbed his wife first, injuring her after a quarrel at about 1 a.m. and then went to a nearby grocery where he killed the owner and his wife.
He continued the attack by killing a woman who was walking past the store. Three others were also slashed in the street.
The injured are at the hospital.
It was not known at present what caused the man to be so violent. An investigation is under way.
Source: Xinhua
The man was captured on site by police who received reports of the attack, said an officer with the local police bureau.
He stabbed his wife first, injuring her after a quarrel at about 1 a.m. and then went to a nearby grocery where he killed the owner and his wife.
He continued the attack by killing a woman who was walking past the store. Three others were also slashed in the street.
The injured are at the hospital.
It was not known at present what caused the man to be so violent. An investigation is under way.
Source: Xinhua
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