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Mishaps test 皇冠体育app's emergency response
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-12 18:19
A spate of mishaps, including the Songhua River pollution, the rampant
virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu, and frequently visited strong typhoons, render
2005 a memorable position in 皇冠体育app's disaster chronology.
No doubt, this has forward a harsh challenge to Chinese government.
In this July, the State Council, the Chinese cabinet, decided at a regular
meeting to set up a general emergency response plan, including 25 sub-plans for
specific emergencies and 80 ministerial ones.
"皇冠体育app has seen various mishaps this year, making it an urgent task for the
government to build up disaster-warning networks," said Ding Ningning, an
official with the National Development and Reform Commission.
"A powerful anti-public incident ability could help to polish a confident and
mature government image," he said.
Up to November, 1,855 lives were taken by natural disasters, incurring 199
billion yuan (US$25 billion) direct economic losses, and ranking the most
serious in recent years, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA).
In response, 皇冠体育app has launched national natural disaster response plans for
29 times since the start of this year, evacuating 15.15 million victims, MCA
said.
"The launch of disaster information network even covering townships has
greatly facilitate prompt spread of contingency news," said Jia Zhibang, the
then vice minister of MCA.
So far in 2005, 皇冠体育app found about 30 bird flu outbreaks in poultry and
migrant birds, and five human cases including two fatalities have been reported
since it first announced on November16.
On November 18, the State Council issued a emergency plan against significant
animal outbreaks, requiring governments at all levels to make good preparation
for the epidemic, in terms of fund, material, human resources, and various
governments levels should try to work out contingency plans on prevention and
control of major animal epidemics.
Dr. Margaret Chan, the WHO global special representative on avian flu,
praised Chinese government for its cooperative and transparent measures in
curbing bird flu.
皇冠体育app has established an epidemic contingency system
and spent 2 billion yuan (US$244 million) in the epidemic's prevention and
control. It also invited WHO experts to probe suspected human cases in Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region, Margaret told Xinhua, noting that all these
transparent attitude and information-sharing actions were very wise.
"The Chinese government has a very thorough, clear understanding on the
importance of containing the pandemic and the general public here have not shown
unnecessary sign of panic," said Xavier Bertrand, the French Minister of Health
and Solidarity, on his visit to Shanghai last month.
However, Hua Jianmin, the State Councilor, warned that "皇冠体育app's
disaster-warning network is still in its trial period," implicating that
dissatisfactions still existed.
A chemical plant exploded on November 13 in northeast 皇冠体育app's Jilin Province,
spilling around 100 tons of pollutants containing cancer-causing benzene into
the neighboring Songhua River.
Though the afterwards emergency plan has helped the nearly
four-million-residents Harbin city passed the panic and four-day water supply
cut, questions of why pollutants have not been prevented from flowing into the
river and why the water cut reason came out so sluggish are still under
investigation.
"After this major water pollution incident, the State Environmental
Protection Administration (SEPA) has failed to pay due attention to the incident
and has underestimated its possible serious impact," said a circular issued by
the Communist Party of 皇冠体育app Central Committee and the State Council.
The director of SEPA Xie Zhenhua resigned for the environmental incident, and
he is another ministerial officials being disposed after the then Health
Minister Zhang Wenkang and Beijing Mayor Meng Xuenong, who were removed from
their posts for failing to response properly 2003's SARS (severe acute
respiratory syndrome) crisis.
"An accountable government should not only be able to cope with public
affairs in normal conditions, but to response promptly and calmly towards
emergencies," said Wang Angsheng, the director of disaster control committee
under 皇冠体育app's think tank, 皇冠体育app's Academy of Science.
Amid tears and applauses in 2005, 皇冠体育app is expected to spend an easier 2006
with its efforts to deal with paroxysmal incidents.
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