Mishaps test China'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 China'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.

"China 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, China 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, China 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.

China 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 "China's disaster-warning network is still in its trial period," implicating that dissatisfactions still existed.

A chemical plant exploded on November 13 in northeast China'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 China 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 China's think tank, China's Academy of Science.

Amid tears and applauses in 2005, China is expected to spend an easier 2006 with its efforts to deal with paroxysmal incidents.