Hu reaches out to quake victims
JIEGU (China) - CHINESE President Hu Jintao called on rescuers on Sunday to keep searching for survivors as he visited victims of a powerful quake in the country's northwest that left more than 1,700 dead.
The Chinese leader promised new homes and schools as he reached out to victims on a visit to the region hit four days ago by a 6.9-magnitude quake that killed 1,706 people and left 256 missing.
In a departure from his usually formal style, President Hu stood amid the rubble in Jiegu, the largest city affected by the quake, and urged rescuers to keep going. 'We will do our best to rescue people still trapped. If there is even one chance (of finding someone), we will make an all-out effort,' he said in scenes broadcast on television.
At another stop, President Hu told a crowd through a megaphone the government would provide essentials such as food, drinking water, shelter, quilts and warm clothing. 'The earthquake is merciless but human beings have compassion,' President Hu told the crowd, adopting a warmth more usually associated with Premier Wen Jiabao.
In a makeshift hospital, President Hu put an arm around a bed-ridden young woman wearing a sling. 'Grandpa Hu will think of you,' he said, patting her shoulder as she wept. 'There will be new schools! There will be new homes!' he wrote in chalk on a blackboard while visiting orphans in a tent turned into a classroom, Xinhua reported.
'I assure you that the Party and the government will definitely help quake victims rebuild homes and resume classes for children as soon as possible,' he told a local Tibetan. More than 100 students and 12 teachers died as schools and dormitories collapsed and dozens more people remain missing, state media reported. -- AFP
JIEGU (China) - CHINESE President Hu Jintao called on rescuers on Sunday to keep searching for survivors as he visited victims of a powerful quake in the country's northwest that left more than 1,700 dead.
The Chinese leader promised new homes and schools as he reached out to victims on a visit to the region hit four days ago by a 6.9-magnitude quake that killed 1,706 people and left 256 missing.
In a departure from his usually formal style, President Hu stood amid the rubble in Jiegu, the largest city affected by the quake, and urged rescuers to keep going. 'We will do our best to rescue people still trapped. If there is even one chance (of finding someone), we will make an all-out effort,' he said in scenes broadcast on television.
At another stop, President Hu told a crowd through a megaphone the government would provide essentials such as food, drinking water, shelter, quilts and warm clothing. 'The earthquake is merciless but human beings have compassion,' President Hu told the crowd, adopting a warmth more usually associated with Premier Wen Jiabao.
In a makeshift hospital, President Hu put an arm around a bed-ridden young woman wearing a sling. 'Grandpa Hu will think of you,' he said, patting her shoulder as she wept. 'There will be new schools! There will be new homes!' he wrote in chalk on a blackboard while visiting orphans in a tent turned into a classroom, Xinhua reported.
'I assure you that the Party and the government will definitely help quake victims rebuild homes and resume classes for children as soon as possible,' he told a local Tibetan. More than 100 students and 12 teachers died as schools and dormitories collapsed and dozens more people remain missing, state media reported. -- AFP
