. Earth Science News .
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
China quake zone govt to sell luxury HQ after outcry: report

by Staff Writers
 Beijing (AFP) July 17, 2008
 The capital of China's quake-hit Sichuan province has bowed to public pressure and will auction off its luxurious new government headquarters to aid the recovery effort, state media said Thursday.

Proceeds from the sale of the controversial Chengdu city government building will go towards rehousing quake victims and for reconstruction, the China Youth Daily quoted He Huazhang, head of the Chengdu propaganda department, as saying.

The move follows a public outcry after rumours circulated online that government personnel began moving into the building just three days after the 8.0-magnitude earthquake shook Sichuan province on May 12, killing nearly 70,000 people.

The newspaper report said the move actually began at the end of April but the high cost of the building further angered Chinese netizens. The paper said it cost 1.2 billion yuan (176 million dollars).

"All of a sudden it makes me lose hope in the current government," one netizen wrote on popular web portal sina.com.

"I don't believe our national leaders didn't know about such a huge project. Pity the poor students who died in the earthquake."

The deaths of thousands of children whose schools collapsed on top of them remains one of the most sensitive issues arising from the quake, and has led to accusations that corruption facilitated the use of shoddy materials.

The government building is located on 17 hectares (42 acres) of land, and measures 370,000 square metres (four million square feet), the China Youth Daily said.

"I think that what was behind this move of moving in and moving out so quickly was some internal self-examination, and the pressure of public opinion from outside," the paper said in a separate commentary on the issue.

According to the Beijing News, the earthquake killed 4,304 people in Chengdu, and caused damage worth more than 120 billion yuan in the city alone.

Community
 Email This Article
 Comment On This Article
Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
 Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes


Memory Foam Mattress Review
SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
 Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


DISASTER MANAGEMENT
China quake sends 1.4 million back into poverty: report
 Beijing (AFP) July 15, 2008
 Up to 1.4 million people in remote villages in southwest China have slipped back into absolute poverty after the May 12 earthquake flattened their homes, state press said Tuesday.






DISASTER MANAGEMENT
  • China quake zone govt to sell luxury HQ after outcry: report
  • China quake sends 1.4 million back into poverty: report
  • Asia sets stage for disaster relief exercise with key powers
  • Exercise For Rapid Disaster Relief Using Space-Based Technologies

    • CLIMATE SCIENCE
  • Australia's Rudd hits out at critics of carbon trading scheme
  • Australia to set up carbon trading scheme by 2010
  • CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship Launched
  • In Namibian desert, the heat is on to address climate change

    • EARTH OBSERVATION
  • ESA Launches Program In Support Of Earth Observation Science
  • Astrium Purchases Majority Share In Spot Image
  • Ocean Surface A Boon For Issuing Extreme Weather Event Bulletins
  • GeoEarthScope NorCal LiDAR Topography Data Available

    • ENERGY TECH
  • Analysis: China dedicated to Nigerian oil
  • Analysis: Venezuela-Exxon row is rekindled
  • SKorean fusion reactor takes step forward: scientists
  • The Current Biofuel Market In India

    • EPIDEMICS
  • The Way To A Virus' Heart Is Through Its Enzymes
  • Discovery Of Key Malaria Proteins Could Mean Sticky End For Parasite
  • Pandemic Mutations In Bird Flu Revealed
  • Researchers Identify Potential Drug Candidates To Combat Bird Flu

    • FLORA AND FAUNA
  • Sea Turtle Nesting Season In Los Cabos Now Underway
  • International Spotlight On Tiny Worms
  • The Exotic Side Of Veterinary Science
  • Incentives For Carbon Sequestration May Not Protect Species

    • FROTH AND BUBBLE
  • Boeing And Alenia Support Composite Industrial Recycling Plant
  • Berlusconi says Naples rubbish crisis is over
  • 80 percent of Vietnam factories breach pollution rules: study
  • Lead Shot And Sinkers: Weighty Implications For Fish And Wildlife Health

    • ABOUT US
  • Will Our Future Brains Be Smaller
  • Do We Think That Machines Can Think
  • A Microsatellite-Guided Insight Into The Genetic Status Of The Adi Tribe
  • New Map IDs The Core Of The Human Brain

    • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement