Chinese Premier Asks Local Governments Prepare for Yangtze Flood Fight
Premier Zhu Rongji visited Hubei and Jiangxi provinces on July 12 and 13 to make arrangements for the fight against the summer flooding.
At a meeting here, Zhu asked all local governments of areas along the Yangtze River to do their best in preparing for the flood fight and ensure the quality of flood control projects in order to guarantee the safety of the lives and properties of millions of people.
Zhu said that China won the fight against last summer's floods, but that is no reason to relax and neglect this year's work, because it has been not unusual for the Yangtze to flood several years in succession.
He laid out five requirements for local governments and departments of the central government for this year's flood control work:
-- A responsibility system is to be implemented by provincial governments to make people responsible for every section of dikes. If problems emerge and major losses occur because of poor work performances, the relevant officials will be held accountable.
-- Immediate checks on flood control projects are needed, especially on dike quality, along the Yangtze River. Weak points need to be reinforced or rebuilt if necessary. Officials or contractors who do faulty work are to be punished in accordance with the law. Top provincial officials need to go to the dikes themselves to inspect project quality and to see that potential risky places are dealt with.
-- Manpower and flood control materials need to be got ready ahead of time.
-- Dike defenses, especially at the most dangerous parts, need to be improved and dike patrols are to be carried out 24 hours a day.
-- Relief work needs to be taken care of right away if certain areas are flooded, to keep losses at a minimum.
The premier emphasized the importance of quality of embankments. The central government has spent a huge amount of money on water conservation projects since last summer's devastating floods, he said, but the real effect of this enormous investment is decided by project quality.
He asked for a permanent-responsibility system, in which all those involved in a project, from leading administrative officials and officials of those units responsible for the designing and construction will be held accountable and will be investigated in case of a major accident.
Zhu stressed the importance of scientific designing and construction. The designing of flood control projects should be conducted by qualified units and examined by authoritative organizations, he said.
He asked for strict implementation of an open and fair bidding system and for strict supervision and management to ensure the quality of projects and said that anyone who diverts or skims money off special funds for water conservation projects will face severe penalties.
He said that the government will continue to ban illegal logging along the upper reaches of the Yangtze to prevent soil erosion and improve the ecology of the Yangtze basin.
Also present at the meeting were Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao, who is director of the State Flood Control Headquarters, and top officials from the provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu and the city of Chongqing.
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