More Compensation for People in Flood AreasPeople living in downstream villages and towns, which may be used as flood detention basins for excess flood waters, will be paid more for their losses this year, today's China Daily reports.Jing Zhengshu, Vice Minister of Water Resources, was quoted as saying that the central and local governments will pay flooded residents 40 to 70 percent of their lost crops and 70 percent of damaged houses, instead of paying residents small amounts for their inundated farms and homes in the past. As a usual practice, some downstream villages and towns are flooded to make way for any serious floods in order to safeguard cities and important areas. Covering a total areas of 34,000 square kilometers, those flood water detention zones cover a population of 16 million and about two million hectares of fertile farmland. They can hold 97 billion cubic meters of water in emergency. Jing said that people living in flood storage zones will be pulled out before flood-diversion sluices are lifted or embankments blown up. Auto China 2000 Show to Be live Broadcast on Internet The Auto China 2000 exhibition, to be opened in Beijing today, will be live broadcast on the Internet. The 90-minute program will be released at www.zhaodaole.com, with joint efforts from the China Central Television Station (CCTV) and the website provider. Numerous background information will also be available at the website to provide the viewers with in-depth and all-round information about every automobile on exhibit. Joining hands with the network company to live broadcast the show on the Internet is to combine the information resources of the CCTV with the network technology so that viewers the world over may have access to the show, according to an official in charge at CCTV. The seven-day event has attracted more than 800 auto companies from 22 countries and regions, including all of the world's major automakers. Auto China 2000 is the largest auto show in the country. The world's top auto manufacturers including General Motors, Ford, Mercedes-Chrysler and Toyota have used the auto show as a venue for introducing their products to China. The auto show is jointly sponsored by the China Automotive Industry International Corporation, the Sub-Council of the Automotive Industry under the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Society of Automotive Engineers of China, and the China International Exposition Company. |
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