Chinese leaders including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao are supporting moves to improve
earthquake contingency measures as the Beijing Olympic Games
approaches, Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu told an inter-ministerial
conference on Monday.
Hui, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of
China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the National Headquarters
for Earthquake Disaster Mitigation, urged local governments and
central government departments to step up efforts to prevent
earthquake-related disasters.
"The prevention of earthquake disasters is a public safety issue
and concerns the general situation of reform, development and
stability," he said.
He called for substantial efforts to strengthen the monitoring
and study of earthquakes, accelerate the building earthquake-proof
areas in cities and quake-resistant houses in rural areas, and set
up emergency rescue teams.
He called for the faster implementation of the national plan on
earthquake prevention and disaster reduction, more investment in
seismological technology, and stronger coordination between the
Army and civilian departments and other departments and areas.
At the meeting, the participants heard a report on the work of
earthquake and disaster reduction in 2007 and studied and arranged
major tasks on earthquake mitigation in 2008.
(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2008)