Premier Wen Jiabao spent the last three days visiting earthquake-hit areas of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where he encouraged local people to unite to rebuild their shattered lives.
On February 24, Bachu and Jiashi counties in western Xinjiang were rocked by an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, followed by a series of aftershocks. Many of the 650,000 people affected by the disaster have been left homeless.
Accompanied by regional leaders, the premier visited the worst-hit villagers to see for himself whether they had been given all necessary help by the local authorities.
Immediately after arriving on what had been a rough journey along roads almost completely destroyed by the earthquake, the premier was warmly shaking hands with each of the 20-odd villagers.
He inquired about the circumstances of each individual family to see how they were coping in the aftermath of the disaster, and even checked on the food in their cooking pots to see exactly what they had to eat.
When he was told by an emotional senior villager that the local government had been prompt and considerate in their help and had provided them with enough food, clothing and shelter, Wen was clearly encouraged.
While talking to the villagers, he told them that people from all over the country had made donations in addition to assistance from the central government.
During his visit, Wen ordered local officials to help villagers rebuild their homes by providing them with quality building materials at reasonable prices.
The premier also visited school children attending classes in makeshift shelters, victims still recovering from injuries, and soldiers, some of whom risked their lives in the rescue operation.
In his talks with local officials, Wen also called for greater attention to be paid to the issue of social stability in Xinjiang.
In a related development, the regional government recently promised to allocate 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million) each month from April until the end of the year to help finance re-construction of the disaster-hit areas, the People's Daily reported on Saturday.
The regional government has also adopted some austerity measures so that more funds can be used on reconstruction.
(China Daily March 31, 2003)
