China yesterday published an official report on last year’s devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province, on the eve of the quake’s first anniversary, a date that will be marked as Disaster Prevention and Reduction Day.
The official Xinhua news agency said the official white paper, released by the State Council, or Cabinet, shed light on the disaster-prevention work by the government and the public.
Xinhua said last year’s May 12 magnitude-8.0 quake, with the epicenter in Wenchuan in Sichuan Province, left more than 87,000 people dead or missing and more than 374,640 injured.
PHOTO: AFP
“China is one of the countries that experiences the most natural disasters,” the report said. “More than 70 percent of Chinese cities and more than 50 percent of the Chinese population are living in areas vulnerable to serious earthquakes, or meteorological, geological or marine disasters.”
Climate change, economic growth and urbanization have put increased pressure on China’s resources and environment, it said.
The job of preventing and reacting to natural disasters has become “more serious and complicated,” the white paper said.
“The mechanisms to coordinate and integrate aid efforts are not yet sufficient,” it added.
The country has developed a disaster control and response system in line with China’s realities, it said. Local authorities are asked to develop emergency plans, conduct regular drills, set up safety zones for the public in parks or sports stadiums and improve information on how to react to disasters.
“The earthquake has shown how badly we are prepared for potential dangers. Many people did not know how to react or give first aid,” Wang Qizhang (王七章), a high-ranking official of the Sichuan provincial government, was quoted as saying by the China Daily.
In a likely reaction to the wave of public outrage over the large number of schools that collapsed during the Sichuan quake, all schools countrywide are to be made earthquake proof and new building regulations entered into force this month.
The white paper not only deals with earthquakes but also with other disasters, which every year directly affect around 300 million Chinese.
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the US that include Chinese technology or equipment. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats.” The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
The US Department of Education on Tuesday said it opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Michigan (UM) while alleging it found “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures” in a review of the university’s foreign reports, after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the US. As part of the investigation, the department asked the university to share, within 30 days, tax records related to foreign funding, a list of foreign gifts, grants and contracts with any foreign source, and other documents, the department said in a statement and in a letter to
RSS