Hu visits quake region

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-12-30  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

PRESIDENT Hu Jintao visited quake-hit Sichuan Province from Saturday to yesterday, meeting survivors and inspecting reconstruction work as winter set in.

The 8.0-magnitude quake, centered in Wenchuan County, left more than 69,000 people dead, 374,000 injured, 18,000 missing and millions homeless.

Hu visited reconstruction sites, factories, villages, resettlement centers, schools and clinics in battered Mianyang, Deyang, Chengdu and Aba, giving residents and those helping with rebuilding work New Year's greetings.

In villages and resettlement centers, Hu went into homes and even into the kitchens and bedrooms of local people to see if they were warm enough and well fed.

"The most important thing is to make sure all people are housed, have clothes and quilts to resist the cold, have enough food for the winter and coming spring, and medical services and epidemic prevention are in place," he said.

At Caijiagang Village, Wenchuan, Hu asked villager Ma Xizhi to be aware of safety problems in using electricity and fire and told local officials to respect farmers' wishes in building new homes with government subsidies.

At Guixi Middle School in Beichuan County, the president encouraged the students to study hard to repay society's concern.