A senior Chinese tourist official admitted on Wednesday that the storm of bad publicity surrounding China in the run-up to this summer’s Olympics could affect the number of foreign visitors to the Beijing Games. Southern China has been hit by freezing weather, there has been violent unrest in Tibet and now the huge earthquake in Sichuan.
More than 80 000 people are now confirmed dead or missing after China’s worst earthquake in decades, the government said on Thursday. State Council Information Office figures showed that the number of dead now exceeded 51 000, an increase of 10 000 on the previous day’s toll. It said more than 29 000 were still missing.
China poured more troops into the earthquake-ravaged province of Sichuan on Wednesday to quicken a search for survivors as time ran out for thousands of people buried under rubble and mud. Across the region, weary rescuers pulled at tangled chunks of buildings and peered into crevices for survivors after Monday’s 7,9 magnitude quake crumpled homes, schools and hospitals.
Heavy rainfall and wrecked roads hampered rescuers’ efforts to reach the areas hardest-hit by China’s worst earthquake in three decades on Tuesday as the death toll rose to nearly 10 000. State media reports indicated that the number of dead was likely to soar, with Xinhua saying 10 000 people remained buried in the Mianzhu area of Sichuan province.
The number of dead in China’s earthquake climbed past 12 000 on Tuesday with the toll expect to soar further after state media said nearly 19 000 people were buried under rubble in one city alone. Rain hampered rescue efforts in the mountainous area around the epicentre of Monday’s 7,9-magnitude quake that jolted the south-western province of Sichuan.
Dogged by anti-Chinese protests in Paris, London, San Francisco and New Delhi, the Olympic torch relay is acting as a catalyst for an outpouring of nationalism and indignation by the man on the street in China. In an increasingly wired society, many, especially the internet-savvy young, have taken to the web to express their feelings.
Chinese people in several cities took to the streets on Saturday to denounce Tibetan independence and call for a boycott of French goods following anti-China protests on the Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay. Pictures from the central city of Wuhan showed large crowds marching carrying banners reading: ”Oppose Tibet independence, support the Olympics”.
Beijing has opened a huge new ,6-billion airport terminal ahead of the expected influx of millions of visitors to this summer’s Olympics, part of a multibillion-dollar infrastructure boost for the capital. The impressive terminal’s nearly 3km-long concourse is divided into three sections and connected by a shuttle train.
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/ 29 February 2008
Beijing opened a huge new ,6-billion airport terminal on Friday ahead of the expected influx of millions of visitors to this summer’s Olympics, part of a multibillion infrastructure boost for the capital. The impressive terminal’s nearly 3km long concourse will boost capacity at the airport to 76-million.
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/ 29 January 2008
Millions of Chinese shivered through power cuts and water shortages on Wednesday and millions more were stranded by snow that has blanketed parts of central and southern China, raising concerns about their safety. About 50 people have died, including 25 on Tuesday in a bus crash on an icy mountain road.