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A victory for socialism, says Wen

— Photo: Xinhua

REACHING OUT: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (right) climbs up a hill to reach a power repair site and meet the workers in southern Guizhou Province, southwest China, on Tuesday.

BEIJING: As most Chinese prepare dinner for Lunar New Year’s Eve family reunions, Premier Wen Jiabao has a busy travel schedule that is taking him around the country’s winter disaster areas.

Mr. Wen’s visit to southwestern Guizhou Province on Tuesday was his third to such areas in the past nine days. “Only when the masses are reassured, can the country be at peace. Only when the country is at peace, can the leaders be relieved,” he said on the flight. “Relief work has come to a critical point. We should not be slack, but keep pushing it forward.”

Amid a widespread blackout, Guizhou is one of the worst-hit provinces. Mr. Wen hit the road to a village in the Qiannan Buyi and Miao ethnic autonomous prefecture. His route took him through elevations of more than 1,200 metres to areas that had just been hit by sleet, places shrouded in white snow and toppled pine trees.

Mr. Wen inspected an electricity line repair site. Through a narrow, winding mountain road, he arrived at the site halfway up a mountain. Walking into a group of workers, he asked where they were from and how long they had been there. After finding that most had travelled from the neighbouring Yunnan Province to help in relief work, Mr. Wen said: “Guizhou is encountering difficulties in restoring electricity. Besides the strength of the province, support and aid from other places is needed. Only when the electricity supply returns to normal can the economy and the entire society resume normal operations.” He told the workers: “When disaster struck, help came from all sides, which indicated the superiority of China’s socialism.

China will allocate 4,00,000 tonnes of vegetables, including potato, onion, and white radish, to the snow-hit regions in a couple of days, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has said.

The move aims to ease price pressures in the southern, central and eastern regions, including Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi, during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday. Prices of vegetables have surged as the worst snowstorm in five decades has disrupted traffic and damaged vegetables.

The snow havoc has so far killed more than 80 persons, destroyed 3,00,000 houses and damaged 90 million hectares of crops. — Xinhua

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