In the past two years, the PLA has assisted in the constructionof more than 490 key projects at the provincial level and above, and transferred more than 500 scientific and technological achievements to civilian sectors. More than 100 military hospitalshave given support to corresponding local hospitals in remote and less-developed areas. PLA technical troops specializing in mapping,meteorology, water supply and so on have provided services in geographic survey, weather forecasts, water source exploration andother fields. Military institutions of education and research havehelped train more than 100,000 personnel urgently needed in local construction. PAPF units have taken part in the construction of more than 100 key national and provincial projects, and made significant contributions in particular to the Three Gorges Project, the West-East Electricity Project, the West-East Natural Gas Project and the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Project, as well as to geological prospecting, forest fire prevention and highway construction.

    Since the founding of New China in 1949, more than 3,500,000 military cadres have been transferred to civilian work, and they have taken an active part in all aspects of national construction.Among the 1,500,000 military cadres transferred to civilian work since the beginning of the reform and opening-up, more than 540,000 have been cited as model or outstanding workers, more than 10,000 have been chosen as outstanding entrepreneurs, and more than 330,000 have become leaders at or above the county or corresponding level, many of whom have even become provincial or ministerial leaders.

    Participating in Emergency Rescue and Disaster Relief Operations

    Taking part in emergency rescue and disaster relief operations is an important mission the state and the people have entrusted tothe PLA and PAPF. In the course of these operations, the PLA and PAPF mainly undertake the following tasks: rescuing and evacuatingdisaster victims and people trapped in danger, eliminating or controlling major dangers and disasters, ensuring the safety of important targets, participating in the emergency rescue and transportation of important goods, conducting rush repairs of roads and bridges, carrying out underwater operations and rescue operations under nuclear, biological and chemical conditions, controlling major epidemic diseases,providing medical aid, and assisting local people's governments in such tasks as disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction. In normal time, the PLA and PAPF make a point of gathering information on disasters and dangers, set up a system of information exchanges with local governments, draw up rescue and relief plans, conduct rescue and relief training and exercises, and offer rescue and relief coursesin military command colleges. In rescue and relief operations, PLAand PAPF troops receive orders from the joint military-civilian headquarters.

    In the past two years, PLA and PAPF troops have taken part in fighting floods, typhoons, earthquakes, forest fires, epidemic diseases and other natural disasters on more than 120 occasions, and prevented economic losses totaling some 10 billion yuan. The PAPF alone put in more than 240,000 troops, rescued more than 230,000 people out of danger, and rush-transported more than 2.6 million tons of goods. In 2003, the PLA and PAPF offered all-out support to governments at all levels in the fight against SARS by sending 37,000 officers and men to help control the spread of the disease and sterilize on a large scale key places, sites and areaswith a high incidence of SARS. Eighteen military hospitals provided meticulous medical treatment to 420 SARS patients. The Military Academy of Medical Science was the first to separate the SARS pathogen in China and develop a rapid-diagnosis reagent for SARS. A total of 1,383 medical personnel from different PLA units worked hard continually at the Beijing Xiaotangshan Hospital for more than 50 days to give meticulous treatment to 680 SARS sufferers.