The Chinese government has completed an emergency counterplan
package, with a total of 106 independent counterplans including a
State Council's counterplan in general, 25 specific counterplans
and 80 departmental counterplans, after 210,000 people were killed
in a variety of unexpected incidents in 2004.
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State Councilor Hua Jianmin made a report on China's severe
situation of production safety and the stipulation progress of the
emergency counterplan package to China's legislators on
Friday.
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The report said more than 200,000 Chinese citizens were killed and
up to 2 million were injured in China every year, due to natural
disasters, unexpected accidents in production and public sanitation
emergencies.
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Facts have proved that a large number of deaths could be avoided,
if effective emergency counterplans were available, the report
said.
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Taking the lantern exhibition stampede, occurring in Miyun, suburb
of Beijing in early 2004, as an example, if the local government
stipulated an emergency counterplan on evacuating throngs in
advance, there might be no casualty at all, but the stampede
finally caused 37 died.
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"The aim to stipulate the emergency counterplan package is that
establishing and improving social early warning system to public
unexpected incidents and building up an effective emergency
handling system," said Prof. Shan Chunchang, vice director of
emergency counterplan drafting group under the General Office of
the State Council.
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According to the State Council's general counterplan, China will
release early warnings on public accidents, according to relevant
department's prediction and analysis and will use four colors--
red, orange, yellow and blue, to demonstrate the accident's
severity.
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The general counterplan also said if a severe public accident
occurs, county government and provincial government concerned must
make down-to-earth report to the State Council within four
hours.
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Some local governments have already understood the importance of
emergency counterplan. In Shanghai, the city's 17 governmental
departments, including public security department, water resources
department, electricity supply department, natural gas supply
department, jointly set up an emergency counterplan.
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Once citizens dialed "110" for help, any department of the 17 will
offer convenience in a short time.
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The east China coastal province Zhejiang
stipulated a comprehensive typhoon early warning system and
emergency counterplan. In 2004, the local government evacuated
local citizens in time after receiving early warning, minimizing
the casualty and economic loss.
(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2005)