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 | Thursday, April 20, 2000, updated at 13:49(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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Journalists Fight DesertificationAll-China Journalists Association began the first phase of its tree-planting campaign on Saturday in a desert in the eastern part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China Daily reported on April 19.More than 100 journalists and 2,400 local people planted 150,000 trees at the ceremony held in the Keerqin Desert. "Because we journalists have used a lot of paper, we should devote ourselves to planting," Zheng Mengxiong, vice-chairman of the association said at the ceremony. "This is a kind of activity that helps repay nature for its generosity." Zheng said the association will plant 800 hectares of trees in the Keerqin Desert from 2000 to 2001. This year, 333 hectares of trees will be planted. "Though we will plant only 800 hectares and the number is not big enough, it shows that Chinese journalists are advocates for protecting the environment and activists of the campaign," Zheng said. The Keerqin Desert, located in the east of Inner Mongolia, covers more than 2.7 million hectares and its southern side moves south 150 metres every year. "If we can't successfully prevent the expansion of the desert, it will threaten North China and the capital, Beijing," said Li Guo'an, another vice-chairman, explaining why the association chose to plant the "Forest of the Chinese Journalists" in the area. "In recent years, we have made much progress in environmental protection, but the ecological conditions here are still harsh because of past destruction," said Zhang Guoming, an official with the Inner Mogalian government. To encourage the 550,000 journalists in China to join in the national campaign to beautify the country, the association started the activity of planting the "Forest of the Chinese Journalists." According to the association, every journalist in China is supposed to donate five yuan to plant at least one tree.
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