Chinese President Hu Jintao (3rd L)
smiles as he talks with family members of Ma Xizhi (2nd L) at Caijiagang
Village of Xuankou Township in Wenchuan County, southwest China's Sichuan
Province, Dec. 29, 2008. President Hu Jintao visited quake-hit Sichuan
Province on Dec. 27-29, showing concern for survivors and inspecting
reconstruction work. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) Photo Gallery>>>
CHENGDU, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- President Hu Jintao
visited quake-hit Sichuan Province over the weekend, showing concern for
survivors and inspecting reconstruction work as winter set in.
It was Hu's second visit after the May 12 earthquake.
Hu's last visit was on May 16, when quake relief work was in a critical phase.
The 8.0-magnitude quake, centered in Wenchuan County,
left more than 69,000 people dead, 374,000 injured, 18,000 missing and millions
homeless.
Chinese President Hu Jintao visits
students and teachers at Guixi Middle School in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous
County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 27, 2008. President Hu
Jintao visited quake-hit Sichuan Province on Dec. 27-29, showing concern
for survivors and inspecting reconstruction work. (Xinhua/Ju
Peng) Photo
Gallery>>>
From Saturday to Monday, Hu visited reconstruction
sites, factories, villages, resettlement centers, schools and clinics in
battered Mianyang, Deyang, Chengdu and Aba, giving residents and those helping
with rebuilding work new year's greetings.
In villages and resettlement centers, Hu went into
homes and even the kitchens and bedrooms of local people to see if they were
warm enough and well-fed.
"The most important thing is to make sure all people
are housed, have clothes and quilts to resist the cold, have enough food for the
winter and coming spring, and medical service and epidemic prevention are in
place," he said.
At Caijiagang Village, Wenchuan, Hu asked villager Ma
Xizhi to be aware of safety problems in using electricity and fire and told
local officials to respect farmers' will in building new homes with government
subsidies.
At Guixi Middle School in Beichuan County, the
president encouraged the students to study hard to repay society's concern.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (L Front)
shakes hands with a woman as he visits residents of the Xingfu Community
in Dujiangyan City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 28, 2008.
President Hu Jintao visited quake-hit Sichuan Province on Dec. 27-29,
showing concern for survivors and inspecting reconstruction work.
(Xinhua/Ju Peng) Photo Gallery>>>
He told workers who were rebuilding the school to
ensure the quality of the buildings and make them safe and solid.
Hu also inspected the progress of industrial and
agricultural reconstruction in the quake areas.
At Dongfang Steam Turbine Works, a large state-owned
enterprise, he asked about losses and the recovery of production, urging the
employees to speed up the reconstruction and develop the facility into a
world-class electric equipment manufacturer.
Many Dongfang employees were killed in the quake. Hu
told the officials to pay visits to victims' families during the upcoming
festivals and help them solve problems.
The central government has introduced policies to
support agricultural recovery, Hu said at a herb production base in Huaxi
Village, Dujiangyan. He encouraged growers to make good use of these policies
and technology to recover losses from the quake.
The president also expressed respect to workers at
reconstruction sites. In Hanwang Township, he praised workers for their hard
work and encouraged them to live up to the expectations of the quake region and
get their jobs done with high quality and efficiency.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (R Front)
shakes hands with a woman as he visits workers and inspects production at
Dongfang Steam Turbine Works in Hanwang Township of Mianzhu City,
southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 28, 2008. President Hu Jintao
visited quake-hit Sichuan Province on Dec. 27-29, showing concern for
survivors and inspecting reconstruction work. (Xinhua/Ju
Peng) Photo
Gallery>>>
With the accelerating reconstruction work, demand for
construction materials has grown. Hu visited a supply station in Dujiangyan,
urging abundant supply and stable prices to serve local needs.
En route to Yingxiu Township, Hu encountered dozens
of military vehicles transporting reconstruction material to the quake zone,
part of the Chengdu Military District's 1,000-vehicle logistics task force.
Hu praised the soldiers for their contribution to the
quake relief and reconstruction, asking them to overcome difficulties and finish
the job.
While in Sichuan, Hu also met with provincial
officials, encouraging them to fully implement the central government's
reconstruction policies.
He told them to put people first, respect nature and
seek a balance in speed and quality in rebuilding.
The great quake relief spirits formed in China's
fight against the tremendous disaster are very precious, he said, urging the
promotion of such spirits among officials at a time of difficulty as an
inspiration.
BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) --
The China Charity Federation (CCF) on Monday donated 410 million yuan (59.87
million U.S. dollars) to quake-hit Sichuan Province for construction of housing
projects, schools, hospitals and other reconstruction projects.
CCF President Fan Baojun said at a donation ceremony
that the fund would be used to build residence for more than 8,000
quake-affected households, 28 schools, four hospitals, 28 welfare facilities,
and a preservation facility for the ethnic Qiang culture. Full story
BEIJING, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of
Health said Tuesday that it has sent a package of medical equipment worth three
million yuan (about 441,000 U.S. dollars) to 26 disease control centers in quake
zones in southwest Sichuan Province.
Ministry spokesman Mao Qun'an said all the temporary
medical stations in the quake zone's counties and towns had been built and that
the stations' medical equipment had been adequate. Full story
LANZHOU, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Gansu
Province has rebuilt houses for more than 200,000 rural families whose
residences were destroyed by the May 12 earthquake, accounting for more than
half of the reconstruction plan, provincial governor Xu Shousheng said Tuesday.
Another 85,000 homes are under reconstruction in the
countryside, Xu told an economic work conference. Full story
CHENGDU, Dec. 20 (Xinhua)
-- A plan for rebuilding the county seat of Beichuan, devastated in the
8.0-magnitude May 12 earthquake, went through an expertise appraisal by China's
construction authority on Saturday.
The plan is still in the procedure of public comment.
Full story
BEIJING, Dec. 5 (Xinhua)
-- Chinese President Hu Jintao met with domestic and foreign charity workers and
groups on Friday ahead of a ceremony to honor their contributions.
During the meeting with the honorees, Hu expressed
appreciation to all domestic and foreign people and organizations that showed
"extraordinary dedication and commitment to Chinese charity affairs." Full story
BEIJING,
Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) have donated
more than 9.7 billion yuan (about 1.4 billion U.S. dollars) under the category
of "special Party membership dues" as of Thursday to help with reconstruction of
quake-hit southwest China.
The Organization Department of the CPC Central
Committee said on Thursday that more than 60 percent of the 73 million CPC
members had made the voluntary contribution. Full story
