soc.culture.asian.american

Portrait of a Impotent and Inept "Olympic Host" -- Harsh Criticism
Following China's Snow Crisis

Harsh Criticism Following China's Snow Crisis
The Epoch Times
Feb 22, 2008

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Just prior to the Chinese New Year, a severe, record-breaking snow storm
hit southern China. Much of the region lost power in the storm causing
severe setbacks at railway stations.

At one point, 800,000 stranded passengers crowded Guangzhou Railway
Station anxious to return home. The stampeding crowd resulted in many
injuries and was even responsible for a fatality. On February 17, the
Vice-chairman of Guangzhou's Political Consultative Conference, Guo
Xiling, fiercely criticized the departments responsible for this
accident, insisting that many at the Department of Rail Transportation
should be ousted from their posts. This was the most serious criticism
brought about by the snow crisis according to mainland Chinese media.
"Two departments should be criticized, the weather forecast
department¡ªwhich failed to forecast the severity of the disaster¡ªand the
Department of Rail Transportation which did an even worse job," Guo
Xiling said to the New and Fast newspaper.

Guo pointed out that at the time, Hengyang and Zhuzhou were completely
without power, and no one knew when it would be restored. "At this time
one could already predict that trains would be unable to move for the
next few days, yet the Department of Rail Transportation was still
selling tickets," said Guo.

"Because of the power outage, the Department of Rail Transportation had
to find diesel trains to replace the electric ones. The diesels were
finally found in Xinjiang, but everyone who knew how to operate them
were unemployed, so it took some time to invite them back to work. After
securing the engineers, the No. 5 diesels couldn't be found because a
different type of diesel is in use nowadays," explained Guo.

Local officials had urged passengers to return their tickets and stay in
Guangzhou for the New Year. However, the Department of Rail
Transportation promised to finish transporting all the stranded
passengers in Guangdong district, causing some of the farm workers to
change their minds about staying in the area. In a very short period of
time, several hundred thousand passengers crowded the Guangzhou railway
station with the promise of returning home. As the crowd lost control,
some died in a tragic stampede.

Chinese Chairman Hu Jintao reportedly ordered 1500 soldiers armed with
tanks to enter Guangzhou Rail Station, in an effort to bring security
and order back to the station.

According to Hong Kong's Mingpao Daily, Guo Xiling's harsh criticism
toward the Department of Rail Transportation only reflects the tip of
the iceberg relating to conflicts between the local governments and
central departments.

The report points out that following the snow crisis, a vital power line
in southern China was covered by snow, which caused a power outage in a
large area. When the city of Guangzhou urged the Department of Rail
Transportation to offer diesel locomotives to respond to the crisis,
they argued that the city of Guangzhou should be responsible for the
cost. But since Guangzhou didn't consider itself a disaster area, it
refused to pay any cost. The two sides fought back and forth, causing
the already tense situation to escalate. In the end, Chinese Prime
Minister Wen Jiabao traveled to Guangzhou to coordinate the effort. Only
then the problem was resolved.

This snowstorm caused enormous economic loss. The official announcement
from the Chinese communist regime last week reported that since January
10 the snowstorm had spread to 21 provinces, districts, and cities
throughout southern China, among which, Hu Nan, Gui Zhou, An Hui, Hu
Bei, Guang Xi and Si Chuan were said to have suffered the most damage.
This snowstorm is responsible for 107 deaths, 8 missing, and the direct
economic loss amounts to 111 billion Yuan (US $15 billion).

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http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/8/2/19/n2016069.htm
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