Special Report: China's war on snow havoc

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has dinner with college students on the eve of the Lunar New Year in Jiangxi provinces. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- As most Chinese prepared dinners for Lunar New Year's Eve family reunions, Premier Wen Jiabao had a busy travel schedule that took him around the country's winter disaster areas.

    On Wednesday afternoon, Wen hastened to the eastern province of Jiangxi where he visited the city of Fuzhou, which has been in the dark for more than 20 days.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao shakes hands with children in Jiangxi province Wednesday afternoon, or the eve of the Lunar New Year. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Wen said: "We lost much in the weather disaster. For instance, some mandarins (oranges) died and trees were toppled. But we also got many things, such as courage, will and the ability to overcome difficulties. Amid the disaster, relations between officials and the masses strengthened and people became more united."

    Learning that electricity was expected to be restored at about 8 p.m. Wednesday in the city, Wen said that he felt reassured. He showed more concern about agricultural restoration, urging local farmers to prepare seeds and fertilizer for the spring planting season.

    Then Wen visited Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, where he had Lunar New Year dinner with students who couldn't go home.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R Front) greets people at Guanyin Village of Longli County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Feb. 5, 2008. Premier Wen Jiabao made an inspection tour in Guizhou, one of the worst hit provinces amid China's weather disaster, and extended festival greetings to local people on Feb. 5, ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The trip meant that it was the fifth Lunar New Year's Eve in a row on which Wen didn't go home but spend the holiday with the public.

    Wen visited southwestern Guizhou Province on Tuesday before he came to Jiangxi Province. His visit to Guizhou and Jiangxi provinces was his third to disaster areas in the past nine days.

    "Only when the masses are reassured, can the country be at peace. Only when the country is at peace, can the leaders be relieved," he said on the flight to Guizhou. "Relief work has come to a critical point. We should not be slack, but keep pushing it forward."

    Amid a widespread blackout, Guizhou is one of the worst hit provinces. Upon arriving in Guiyang, the provincial capital at around 2 p.m. Tuesday, Wen hit the road to Guanyin village, Longli County of Qiannan Buyi and Miao ethnic autonomous prefecture. His route took him through elevations of more than 1,200 meters to areas that had just been hit by sleet, places shrouded in white snow and pine forests toppled from ice.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (2nd L) tries to climb up a hill to reach a power repair site and see the workers, in southern Guizhou Province, southwest China, Feb. 5, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Entering the village, the premier inspected an electricity line repair site first. Through a narrow, winding mountain road, he arrived at the site halfway up a mountain. Walking into a crowd of workers, he amiably asked them: "Where are you from? How many days have you been here?"

    After finding that most had traveled from neighboring Yunnan Province to help with relief work, Wen said: "Guizhou is encountering difficulties in restoring electricity. Besides the strength of the province, support and aid from other places are needed. Only when the electricity supply returns to normal, can the economy and the entire society resume normal operations."

    He told the workers: "When disaster struck, help came from all sides, which indicated the superiority of China's socialism."

    The premier then visited the home of villager Wang Zhenli, where he saw several villagers making glutinous rice cakes, a local traditional food for the New Year celebrations. Wen said: "Let me join you in making it."

    Learning that the trees on one of the three mu of forest land owned by villager Wang had been destroyed by the weather, Wen encouraged Wang to remain confident and replant some seedlings when the weather improved.

    Concerned about market supplies and commodity prices, Wen visited a privately owned supermarket in Guiyang city, asking about the prices of produce, grain and pork at several booths. Learning that supplies were sufficient and prices stable, he looked happy.

    During his visit to the supermarket, Wen encountered a senior citizen and his granddaughter who were shopping for Lunar New Year. Looking over their shopping basket, Wen told the old man: "Guizhou Province was seriously hit by the extreme weather, I am not assured and the Spring Festival is coming, so I come to have a look."

    The man replied: "We see you busy in the icy and snowy weather in the past several days, even coming to Guizhou. We are so moved."

    TWO VISITS TO HUNAN

    The three-week freak weather, the worst in five decades and even a century in few areas, has led to deaths, structural collapses, blackouts, accidents, transport problems and livestock and crop losses in 19 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. More than 100million people have been affected, and at least 60 people have died in the freezing weather.

    On the night of Jan. 28, Wen set out on his first journey to Hunan Province by plane, but he had to make an unscheduled landing at the Tianhe Airport in neighboring Hubei Province because of bad weather in Hunan.

    He completed his journey on an overnight train and arrived in Changsha City, the provincial capital, on the morning of Jan. 29.

    Wen visited and bowed to the relatives of three electricians who had died a few days earlier when cleaning ice from a transmission tower.

    "As I face you here today, I can not find enough words to express my condolence. Please accept a bow from me," Wen said as he bowed to them.

    After completing his visit to Hunan Province, he moved south to visit passengers stranded at the railway station in Guangzhou. He told them that the government would do its best to ensure they got home for the holidays.

    Speaking through a megaphone to a large crowd of passengers, Wen said: "You all want to go home and I completely understand how you feel. We are now fixing the power grid. Once the power supply resumes, trains will be running."

    After just 44 hours back in Beijing, he flew to Hunan Province again. Wen's last stop on his second journey to Hunan was Chenzhou City, which was still without power and running water as a result of damage caused by heavy snow.

    Xie Yunqing, one of the city's 4 million residents, received Wen at her home, which had been in the dark for ten days. She told Wen that the local government had supplied them with battery-powered lamps and food.

    "Please be patient. The situation will be better in a few days as the government is going all out to help you. Technicians rushed here from across the country to help fix the power transmission facilities," Wen said. He asked local authorities to "act now, don't wait."

    WHOLE NATION MOBILIZED

    By 5 p.m. Wednesday, the eve of Lunar New Year, power supply in162 snow-stricken counties, including the worst-off city of Chenzhou, had been restored after workers reconnected local power lines to the state grid. Another seven counties were using portable generators, said the disaster relief and emergency command center under the State Council.

    During the worst of the weather crisis, the top echelon of China's leadership went all out to give a sense of urgency to the disaster-relief work and care for people. Both President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao repeatedly visited disaster areas, highlighting their ruling principle of "exerting state power for the people".

    Meanwhile, the nation has been mobilized in an unprecedented way.

    As of Tuesday night, the public had pledged donations of more than 780 million yuan (about 108 million U.S. dollars) for those affected by the weather.

    About 519,000 members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the Chinese People's Armed Police, and 1.613 million paramilitary members worked at the front lines in relief efforts.

    They provided 219,000 wadded jackets, 528,000 quilts and 5,300 sets of winter tire chains, with another 5,000 sets still being transported to disaster areas. And they scrambled to help restore electricity and keep the roads moving.

    Several electricians and police died on duty as they tried to help victims of the storm, earning public gratitude.

    And although people living in some blacked-out areas couldn't see it on TV but had to listen on the radio, the annual CCTV Spring Festival gala included programs to boost public morale.

    Daniel Cotterall of New Zealand, who lives in Beijing, told Xinhua that China's crisis-management capability had improved since 2003, when the SARS epidemic struck. "The government meant to show that they could manage the problem, with the Olympics coming," he said.

Wu calls for efforts on power supply, transport

Wu Bangguo (C), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, talks to passengers at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, China, Feb. 3, 2008.  (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Wu Bangguo Sunday visited the railway ministry and other departments in Beijing that are playing key role in the fight against freak cold winter in the south.

    Wu, president of the Standing Committee of National People's Congress, urged staff of State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) and the Railway Ministry to spare no effort in resuming power supply and transport in the snow-ravaged regions.   Full story

Premier Wen: China confident, capable in winning battle against disaster

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in Beijing on Monday that China is confident and capable in achieving the final victory in combating disasters incurred by low temperature, ice and heavy snow. Wen made the remarks at a seminar with more than 20 foreign experts who have been engaged in revolution and construction in China for a long time. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said here on Monday that China is confident and capable in achieving the final victory in combating disasters incurred by low temperature, ice and heavy snow.

    Wen made the remarks at a seminar with more than 20 foreign experts who have been engaged in revolution and construction in China for a long time.  Full story