What was expected to be a regular 36-hour journey through Guangzhou province, Edward Wang describes as a hellish trip during China’s worst blizzard in over 50 years. After spending over double the time of the original trip aboard the train, food and water began to run out. People began getting desperate and knife fights broke out over food.Chinese officials expressed to the international media that locals were struggling, but coping with the situation nonetheless. In reality, close to 7.5 billion dollars in damage has already been caused and a confirmed sixty deaths have taken place, though these numbers may rise. Another disaster awaits China if people choose not to attend the Olympic Summer Games this July as a result of the government’s slow reaction at the beginning of this crisis.
For more on Edward Wang’s story: http://winnipegsun.com/News/World/2008/02/05/4827751-sun.html
The BBC has reported that the Xinhua News Agency in China claims the “Widespread transport chaos ha[s] now eased.” But thousands remain without power and many families have given up trying to travel to see their relatives for the Lunar New Year. The Year of the Rat, or Earth Rat, is in Chinese astrology associated with the qualities of patience, thoughtfulness, practicality, hard work and stability. And in the effort to deal with the aftermath of this storm these virtues will be put to the test.
For the BBC article, refer to:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7229707.stm
For current weather conditions in China, refer to:
http://weather.china.org.cn/english/
By Spencer McCall
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