Arduous evacuation of Chinese nationals from Japan
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China has impressed the world again with its arduous but swift and successful evacuation of thousands of Chinese nationals from northeastern Japan after a 9.0-magnitude quake, ensuing tsunami and radiation leak devastated the area.
The death toll from the March 11 disaster stood at nearly 11,600 by Friday morning, with another 16,400 still missing.
Shortly after the disasters, Chinese President Hu Jintao said the Chinese government attached great importance to the safety of Chinese citizens in Japan, and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao held a Cabinet meeting to order the swift evacuation of Chinese citizens in the quake zone to safer areas.
The foreign ministry and the civil aviation and tourism departments mobilized quickly to aid the Chinese nationals.
Within the following 10 days, the Chinese government helped evacuate some 7,600 Chinese from the disaster zone to safer regions and some 9,300 Chinese from Japan to China.
Care of Chinese leaders, homeland to stranded Chinese
On March 18, President Hu paid a visit to the Japanese Embassy in Beijing to convey a message of condolence for the victims of the disasters.
He said the Chinese government was very concerned about the safety of Chinese nationals in Japan's quake zone, and thanked the Japanese government for offering help to them under such a difficult situation.
A range of Chinese government departments coordinated efforts in the tense but orderly evacuation.
The foreign ministry and the Chinese embassy and consulates in Japan started the emergency response mechanism, released urgent statements seeking orderly evacuation of Chinese nationals in the quake zone, and sent missions to organize and coordinate the evacuation.
The General Administration of Civil Aviation coordinated with several Chinese airlines to dispatch an additional 42 flights to Japan to support the evacuation.
The National Tourism Administration, collaborating with the foreign ministry, traced Chinese tourist groups in Japan, and tried to ensure the tourists' safety. Ten days later, all 5,416 tourists from 215 groups were back home from Japan safe and sound.
The Guangzhou salvage branch of the Transport Ministry sent its giant tug "Deyue" to rescue the "Longmu Bay", a ship with 24 Chinese crew members, which had been paralyzed by the tsunami.
The Public Security Ministry helped the Chinese embassy and consulates in Japan check the identifies of Chinese nationals in Japan in order to speed the processing of tourist papers, and ordered Chinese border check points to provide efficient and high-quality customs services.
Among the Chinese flights, a plane from China Southern Airline was dubbed a Noah's Ark by the 178 Chinese it retrieved from Miyagi prefecture, one of the hardest hit areas.
The plane safely landed at an airport in Shenyang city in northeastern China in the early hours of March 17. Many passengers said they deeply felt homeland China was like their mother, especially after experiencing the difficulties.
Efforts of Chinese diplomats in Japan
Immediately after the quake and tsunami, the Chinese embassy and six general consulates in Japan mobilized and offered aid to Chinese nationals hit by the disasters.
Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua, working round the clock, immediately organized an emergency meeting, initiated the emergency response mechanism, published the numbers or addresses of six hotlines and email addresses and sent missions to the quake zone.
The general consulates in Sapporo, Niigata, Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Nagoya all set up hotlines and worked 24 hours a day.
On the night of March 11, consul of the Chinese embassy Liu Jingshi, leading a seven-member working group, set off for Miyagi prefecture.
One day later, commercial counselor of the embassy Xie Cheng, leading another working group, traveled to Ibaraki prefecture to locate Chinese trainees living in the prefecture.
On March 13, general consul in Sapporo Hu Shengcai, together with two colleagues, hurried to Iwate, where 3,000 Chinese nationals were staying.
One day later, military attache of the embassy Zhao Jun, leading a mobile working group, traveled from south to north in northeastern Japan to look for Chinese affected by the disasters.
The general consulate in Niigata sent staff to Fukushima prefecture to evacuate Chinese trainees within 20 km of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, whose reactors were leaking radiation and in danger of meltdown.
During the evacuation, diplomats overcame difficulties including frequent aftershocks, jammed roads, poor communications, bad weather and the radioactive threat.
On the afternoon of March 15, Hu, general consul in Sapporo, after an arduous trek, reached a shelter in a high school of Ofunato city, where several Chinese girl trainees had stayed for four days in cold and hunger.
Hu said, "Don't worry. We will arrange your trip to the homeland as soon as possible." The girls couldn't hold back their tears when seeing the Chinese diplomats and hearing the words.
From March 15, Chinese diplomats began the voluntary and orderly evacuation of Chinese nationals from the quake zone.
The Chinese embassy in Tokyo and the general consulate in Niigata hired buses to carry Chinese nationals, who were picked up at designated places in Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Iwate prefectures, to nearby airports, and coordinated flights to take them back to China.
Tang Xiaoqin, general consul in Niigata, wasted no time in organizing batches of Chinese nationals back home from the Niigata airport. Tang said, "This is my duty. I am very happy to see so many Chinese flown back home safely."
Mutual support of Chinese nationals in Japan
Facing the multiple disasters, described by Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan as the country's severest crisis since World War II, Chinese nationals in the quake zone displayed impressive courage and spirit.
On the evening of March 16, when a bus with a full load of Chinese nationals was about to set off from Ibaraki prefecture, a mother and her two children arrived at the scene. Two Chinese students, despite the risks of the quake zone, gave the family their seats and waited for the next bus.
Immediately after the quake and tsunami, cornered Chinese nationals in the disaster zone sailed in the same boat under harsh circumstances and actively helped each other. They shared very limited food, water and blankets, and waited for rescue.
After learning thousands of Chinese compatriots were in lack of food and drinking water in shelters of Niigata, overseas Chinese associations in Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe bought a full truckload of food and drinking water within two to three hours, and set off for Niigata from Osaka.
Zhang Zongliang, a Chinese restaurant boss in Niigata, halted daily business to prepare soup and sent it to Chinese citizens in three local temporary shelters. When seeing compatriots receive bowls of soup, Zhang said he felt all the hard work was worthwhile.
After the evacuation was almost complete, Japan New Overseas Chinese Newpaper conducted a phone poll among Chinese in Japan.
The respondents widely praised the Chinese government's efforts in the evacuation, saying the evacuation exemplified the spirit of China's people-first foreign policy, and showcased China's image as a people-first and responsible country.
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