More than eight million people are facing grain shortage due to the lingering drought in the south western province of Yunnan. Ou Zhiming, deputy director for Yunnan Provincial poverty alleviation office, said on Friday that the drought has lead to crop failure in more than 3.1 million hectares. In all 25 million people have been affected by the severe drought. Spring grain output has been reduced by 50 percent, resulting in an agricultural economic loss of more than 20 billion Yuan. Meanwhile in Mongolia a prolonged period of heavy snow is paralyzing the country and temperatures plunge to minus 40 degrees below zero. A very sad story in the Chinese paper showed Mr. Lkhagvasuren who crammed two dozen of his weakest goats into his yurt (animal skin tent). The rest of his flock of more than a 1,000 animals froze to death outside his door. An ancient way of life for the herders could be lost. Their skills are bare back riding and herding. It is near impossible for them to make a new life in the city. (more…)
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Qinghai quake kills 2000. The earthquake in Qinghai, where over 2,000 people died, dominates the front page of the paper a week after rescue efforts began. Companies are being encouraged to donate to rescue efforts and orphaned children are being relocated to Beijing for a brief escape. The 10,000 Tibetan minorities living in the region have been impacted. Poorly constructed buildings collapsed and rescue efforts are unprecedented. 5,000 medical workers and 700 soldiers were immediately dispatched to aid survivors. One headmaster in the region evacuated his entire school of 800 pupils after being woken by a smaller quake of magnitude 4.3 that preceded the 7.1 quake. The debate about earthquake warning procedures remains intense.
President Hu Jintao cut his trip to Brazil short to make a personal visit to the site and was photographed shoulder to shoulder with rescue workers. Premier Wen Jiaboa made a rallying speech to soldiers stating “Your disaster is our disaster. We mourn together,” emphasising the Government’s commitment to aiding the remote ethnic minority region. Rescue workers are battling severe conditions; the temperature drops to -10 at night, landing rescue planes is difficult and altitude sickness at 5,000 feet causes vomiting for those with little time to acclimatize.
Ma Jun’s career from environmental warrior to Government advisor, illustrates that China is increasingly accepting NGO activity and taking advice on green issues seriously. Wikipedia describes Ma Jun as a Chinese environmentalist, non-fiction writer, environmental consultant and journalist. From 1993 – 2000 he worked as an investigative journalist for the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) becoming bureau chief for the paper in Beijing. In 1999 he wrote “China’s Water Crisis” which outlined the most serious problem affecting China today. Pressed by his readers he set up the influential NGO, IPE (Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs) to try and help solve the problem. For his futuristic thinking, Time magazine named Ma Jun as one of the world’s 100 most influential people in 2006. (more…)
The BBC television reporter asked if Obama had spent too long in one to one sessions with foreign leaders like Wen Jiabao at Copenhagen. I guarantee that China only moved on the transparency concessions because people like Obama took the time to approach Wen Jiabao at home in Beijing before the conference and then in a culturally appropriate manner at Copenhagen. Can you imagine what is like in an alien ‘parliamentary’ style plenary session conducted predominantly in English with jet-lag from China? You have to get close before you get critical in the Chinese culture. The fact that any deal was made at all in Copenhagen is thanks to Obama’s and Wen Jiabao’s efforts to understand each other. (more…)
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