State council has established a command center to coordinate
contingency measures for coal, oil and power supply, transportation
and disaster relief in snow-hit areas, said the National
Development and Reform Commission on Friday.
The center, with its office at the commission, involves 23 Party
and government departments and organizations, including watchdogs
on traffic, public security, finance, health care and information
as well as armed forces and energy giants.
The State Council made the move to effectively resolve some
major problems in coal and oil shipments, power supply and disaster
relief caused by the freezing weather, said Zhu Hongren, deputy
director of the Bureau of Economic Operations with the NDRC, at a
press conference.
"The government will fight against the winter storm with great
resolution and protect the safety of people's lives and
properties," said Zhu.
The center has already called three meetings to study and cope
with the situation of the disaster-hit areas since Tuesday,
according to the NDRC.
The prolonged snow, the worst in a decade in many places, has
hit most of China since Jan. 12, leaving homes collapsed, power
blackouts, highways closed and crops destroyed.
(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2008)