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China: Lunar new year approaches with tragedy growing
Written by: Global Voices
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
Crisis looms large across the south part of the country with the 2008 China Snowstorm showing no signs of letting up. Trains are trapped [zh] on tracks, cars stuck on highways, flights have been delayed and canceled up and down the east coast and at least one woman has been trampled to death [zh] beneath the hundreds of thousands of stranded travelers at Guangzhou's train station in the south, scrambling in misery to make it home for the Olympic Chinese New Year of the Rat, which begins on Thursday.
The impact has been worse in other parts of the south, not accustomed to
dealing with snow in any amounts, leaving large parts of Hunan and Hubei provinces freezing but
without electricity and in some cases, water. Nearly all of normally subtropical Guizhou province, one of China's poorest, is in crisis mode now,
with large areas urban and rural encased entirely in ice.For the areas that still have electricity, the shared experience is being shown online. Here one Youku user somewhere in Guizhou writes
that with both water and electricity off, over ten thousand people have gathered at what appears to be a natural hot water source:Another user from Guizhou writes in shock at all the ice, in a province which very seldom sees snow:More shocking images of the response efforts, also from Guizhou:Dozens of similar citizen reporter-style videos can be found on Chinese video sharing websites; this one comes from Hunan:Several days ago a bus traveling from Chongqing to Guizhou overturned on the highway, resulting in 25 deaths. Someone at the scene stayed to film the salvage effort at the extremely grisly
scene:TangFlyBra at hoopChina asks in a post on Friday, “Guizhou, are you still
alive?”首先，贵州是最æ-©å¼€å§‹å‡å†»å¤©æ°"的城市，也是å-ç¾æœ€ä¸¥é‡çš„åŸŽå¸‚ï¼Œè¿™åœºæ¼«å¤©çš„å¤§é›ªå¯¹è´µå·žçš„ä¼¤å®³è¿œè¿œå¤§äºŽå…¶ä»–åœ°åŒºï¼Œå› ä¸ºè´µå·žæ˜¯å–€æ–¯ç‰¹åœ°å½¢å±±è„‰ï¼Œå¤§éƒ¨åˆ†å…¬è·¯éƒ½æ˜¯çŽ¯å±±è€Œå»ºï¼Œå› æ¤ä¸€æ-¦è·¯é¢æ- 法出行，就æ„å'³ç€é‚£äº›å±±é‡Œçš„城市å'Œä¹¡æ'将与世éš"ç»ï¼Œæ²¡æœ‰ä»»ä½•èƒ½å‡ºåŽ»çš„å¯èƒ½ï¼çŽ°åœ¨è´µå·žå¾ˆå¤šåŽ¿éƒ½å·²ç»æ–æ°´æ–ç"µå¹¶ä¸"与外界失去è"ç³»æ- æ•°å¤©äº†ï¼ŒåŠ ä¸Šå½"地本æ¥å°±æ¯"较贫穷，å½"地人æ°'完全是被抛弃在了大山里。41;é›ªå¯¹ä½ ä»¬é‚£é‡Œæœ‰å½±å"å-？â€æˆ'æ"ï¼å½"贵州的雪ä¸æ˜¯é›ªæ˜¯å-？然åŽæˆ'期待ç€è´µé˜³çš„记者把严é‡çš„é-®é¢˜è¯´å‡ºæ¥ï¼ˆæˆ'爸妈现在已ç»æ²¡åŠžæ³•å‡ºé-¨äº†ï¼Œæ˜¨æ™šçš„冻雪åˆé€ æˆäº†åœ°é¢åŽšåŽšçš„一层冰，贵州所有的é"路都是高低起ä¼çš„，å¯ä»¥æƒ³è±¡ä¸€ä¸‹çŽ°åœ¨è´µå·žåŸºæœ¬å·²ç»æ˜¯ä¸€ä¸ªå·¨å¤§çš„æºœå†°åœºäº†ï¼‰ã€‚ä½ ä»¬çŸ¥é"记者花了å分é'Ÿåœ¨è¯´ä»€ä¹ˆå-？在说他妈的移动ã€è"通å'Œç"µä¿¡çš„基站如何如何被影å"，然åŽå¦‚何如何去有人æ¯éš"七å°æ-¶ç"¨æŸ´æ²¹å'ç"µæœºåŽ»ä¿è¯å¤§å®¶èƒ½é¡ºåˆ©æ‰"手机。。。那些山区里的è€ä¹¡ä»¬éƒ½ä»–妈快冻æ»é¥¿æ»äº†ï¼Œå°±ç®-贵阳也都åœæ°´åœç"µåˆæ²¡æ³•å‡ºé-¨äº†ï¼Œä½ 他妈的居然在这里说ä¿è¯æ‰‹æœºä¿¡å·çš„事情，æˆ'FXXKï¼ï¼ï¼86;†ï¼Œæ˜¨æ™šçš„冻雪åˆé€ æˆäº†åœ°é¢åŽšåŽšçš„一层冰，贵州所有的é"路都是高低起ä¼çš„，å¯ä»¥æƒ³è±¡ä¸€ä¸‹çŽ°åœ¨è´µå·žåŸºæœ¬å·²ç»æ˜¯ä¸€ä¸ªå·¨å¤§çš„æºœå†°åœºäº†ï¼‰ã€‚ä½ ä»¬çŸ¥é"记者花了å分é'Ÿåœ¨è¯´ä»€ä¹ˆå-？在说他妈的移动ã€è"通å'Œç"µä¿¡çš„基站如何如何被影å"，然åŽå¦‚何如何去有人æ¯éš"七å°æ-¶ç"¨æŸ´æ²¹å'ç"µæœºåŽ»ä¿è¯å¤§å®¶èƒ½é¡ºåˆ©æ‰"手机。。。那些山区里的è€ä¹¡ä»¬éƒ½ä»–妈快冻æ»é¥¿æ»äº†ï¼Œå°±ç®-贵阳也都åœæ°´åœç"µåˆæ²¡æ³•å‡ºé-¨äº†ï¼Œä½ 他妈的居然在这里说ä¿è¯æ‰‹æœºä¿¡å·çš„事情，æˆ'FXXKï¼ï¼ï¼ºäº†ï¼‰ã€‚ä½ ä»¬çŸ¥é"记者花了å分é'Ÿåœ¨è¯´ä»€ä¹ˆå-？在说他妈的移动ã€è"通å'Œç"µä¿¡çš„基站如何如何被影å"，然åŽå¦‚何如何去有人æ¯éš"七å°æ-¶ç"¨æŸ´æ²¹å'ç"µæœºåŽ»ä¿è¯å¤§å®¶èƒ½é¡ºåˆ©æ‰"手机。。。那些山区里的è€ä¹¡ä»¬éƒ½ä»–妈快冻æ»é¥¿æ»äº†ï¼Œå°±ç®-贵阳也都åœæ°´åœç"µåˆæ²¡æ³•å‡ºé-¨äº†ï¼Œä½ 他妈的居然在这里说ä¿è¯æ‰‹æœºä¿¡å·çš„事情，æˆ'FXXKï¼ï¼ï¼Ÿ´æ²¹å'ç"µæœºåŽ»ä¿è¯å¤§å®¶èƒ½é¡ºåˆ©æ‰"手机。。。那些山区里的è€ä¹¡ä»¬éƒ½ä»–妈快冻æ»é¥¿æ»äº†ï¼Œå°±ç®-贵阳也都åœæ°´åœç"µåˆæ²¡æ³•å‡ºé-¨äº†ï¼Œä½ 他妈的居然在这里说ä¿è¯æ‰‹æœºä¿¡å·çš„事情，æˆ'FXXKï¼ï¼ï¼2;居然在这里说ä¿è¯æ‰‹æœºä¿¡å·çš„事情，æˆ'FXXKï¼ï¼ï¼
å'飙：湖å-是全国的交通枢纽ã€å¹¿å·žæ˜¯è¿"乡农æ°'工的èšé›†åœ°ï¼ŒäºŽæ˜¯æ¼«å¤©çš„报é"都是这些çœï¼Œè€Œå-ç¾æœ€ä¸¥é‡çš„贵州å'¢ï¼Ÿæ˜¯å¦å·²ç»è¢«äººé-忘了？昨晚看到公布的ç¾å®³å„地的更新åˆ-表，首页居然没有贵州çœï¼åŽ»ä»–大爷的ï¼228;º†ï¼Ÿæ˜¨æ™šçœ‹åˆ°å…¬å¸ƒçš„ç¾å®³å„地的更新åˆ-表，首页居然没有贵州çœï¼åŽ»ä»–大爷的ï¼å…¶æ¬¡ï¼Œè´µå·žçš„ç"µå¡"ç"±äºŽåŽšåŽšçš„ç»"冰已ç»å€'塌了æ- 数了，ç"µå¡"上的ç»"冰有接è¿'1公分厚，这就æ„å'³ç€ä¸€åº§ç"µå¡"上é¢çŽ°åœ¨è¢«æ•°å¨çš„东西压ç€ï¼Œè¿™èƒ½ä¸å€'å-？贵阳å‰å‡ 天已ç»å¤§é¢ç§¯åœç"µåœæ°´äº†ï¼Œè´µå·žçœå§"开会都是点蜡烛了，çœä¼šå°šä¸"如æ¤ï¼Œæ›´ä½•å†µå…¶ä»–城市。
å'飙：å½"å…¨çœäººæ°'都在æ- é™çš„ç-›è‹¦ä¹‹ä¸ï¼Œä¸å¤®ç"µè§†å°è¿žçº¿è´µå·žè´µé˜³è®°è€…进行最新一轮ç¾æƒ…采访，首先é-®çš„第一å¥è¯æ˜¯ï¼šâ€œè¿™æ¬¡æœ€æ–°çš„é™é›ªå¯¹ä½ 们那里有影å"å-？â€æˆ'æ"ï¼å½"贵州的雪ä¸æ˜¯é›ªæ˜¯å-？然åŽæˆ'期待ç€è´µé˜³çš„记者把严é‡çš„é-®é¢˜è¯´å‡ºæ¥ï¼ˆæˆ'爸妈现在已ç»æ²¡åŠžæ³•å‡ºé-¨äº†ï¼Œæ˜¨æ™šçš„冻雪åˆé€ æˆäº†åœ°é¢åŽšåŽšçš„一层冰，贵州所有的é"路都是高低起ä¼çš„，å¯ä»¥æƒ³è±¡ä¸€ä¸‹çŽ°åœ¨è´µå·žåŸºæœ¬å·²ç»æ˜¯ä¸€ä¸ªå·¨å¤§çš„æºœå†°åœºäº†ï¼‰ã€‚ä½ ä»¬çŸ¥é"记者花了å分é'Ÿåœ¨è¯´ä»€ä¹ˆå-？在说他妈的移动ã€è"通å'Œç"µä¿¡çš„基站如何如何被影å"，然åŽå¦‚何如何去有人æ¯éš"七å°æ-¶ç"¨æŸ´æ²¹å'ç"µæœºåŽ»ä¿è¯å¤§å®¶èƒ½é¡ºåˆ©æ‰"手机。。。那些山区里的è€ä¹¡ä»¬éƒ½ä»–妈快冻æ»é¥¿æ»äº†ï¼Œå°±ç®-贵阳也都åœæ°´åœç"µåˆæ²¡æ³•å‡ºé-¨äº†ï¼Œä½ 他妈的居然在这里说ä¿è¯æ‰‹æœºä¿¡å·çš„事情，æˆ'FXXKï¼ï¼ï¼
First off, Guizhou was the earliest place to be covered in ice, and it's also seen the most severe disaster; the heavy snow which has filled the sky has done far more
damage to Guizhou than it has other areas, because Guizhou is in the Karst region, and most roads loop around the mountains, making it not
only impossible to leave, meaning that the mountain cities and villages are cut off from each other, with no possibility of getting out! Now, many counties in Guizhou have had no water or electricity
or contact with the outside world for days already; add in the extreme poverty there, and the local people end up completely abandoned in mountains.Hunan is a national traffic hub, and
Guangzhou is where migrant workers gather to return home, so reports have all been on these two provinces. And Guizhou, which has seen the most devastation? Have people forgotten it already? Last
night I saw the latest list of disaster areas, but I didn't even see Guizhou province on the front page! God dammit!What's more, countless electricity towers in Guizhou, covered in ice
nearly a centimeter thick, have toppled over. With a ton of ice pressing down on it, what electricity tower wouldn't fall down? For several days already, [the provincial capital] Guiyang has been
without electricity or water. Even the provincial government is lighting candles now just have convene, and if that's where they're at, other cities must be worse.As the entire
province is stuck in endless misery, CCTV reporters from Guiyang did interviews for an update on the latest of the disaster. Their first question was, “have you been affected there by the latest
snowfall?” Fuck! It's not snow if it's Guizhou snow, is that it? Then when I expected the Guiyang reporter to start asking the serious questions (my mom and dad, btw, can't even get
out door now, the frozen snow from last night's fall has turned the ground into a thick layer of ice. All the roads in Guizhou are on rolling land, so you can imagine that the whole province is
pretty much one big skating rink now), do you know what the reporter spent ten minute talking about? That fucking China Mobile and China Unicom have relay stations have been affected, and how every
seven hours someone is going and using a diesel generator to make sure everyone's cellphones work smoothly…the people in the mountain villages are about to fucking freeze and starve to
death, and all of Guiyang is without power or water and can't even go out, and you're still fucking here talking about ensuring cellphone usage? Fuck!!!
Zhao Mu, director of main
news portal Sohu.com's blogging services, posted on his blog today a thread of netizen comments that has been making the rounds: 
Aqua and green are little to no hazard areas
贵州已ç»æ˜¯é›¶ä¸‹5，6度，已ç»å‡ 乎是湿冷的æžé™ï¼Œèƒ½å¾ˆå¿«å¸¦èµ°äººä½"çƒé‡ï¼Œè´µå·žäººæ°'çŸæ°´çŸç"µï¼Œç²®é£ŸåŠå…¶å±æœºï¼Œèƒ½æºæ- 法ä¿è¯ï¼Œç"Ÿæ´»è‰°è¾›æ- 法想åƒã€‚¾›æ- 法想åƒã€‚希望天æ°"æ-©æ-¥ç»"æŸï¼Œåœ¨æˆéƒ½å…³æ³¨å'ŒåŒæƒ…ä½ ä»¬ï¼è°æ¥æ‹¯æ•'雪困ä¸çš„贵州人？现在到处都是关于雪ç¾çš„消æ¯ï¼Œè´µå·žå±žäºŽé‡ç¾åŒºã€‚æˆ'是一å在京的贵州人，所以尤其关注贵州的ç¾æƒ…，但是å´å'现从ç½'络以åŠç"µè§†ã€æŠ¥åˆŠæ‚å¿-上能了解贵州ç¾æƒ…的消æ¯ä¸å¤šï¼Œä¸æ–å'Œå®¶äººã€äº²å‹çŸä¿¡ç"µè¯ï¼Œå¾-知的也是交通情况æ¶åŠ£ï¼Œéƒ½åŒ€ç¦æ³‰ç‰åœ°æ- ç"µä¾›åº"ç‰å¾ˆç‰‡é¢çš„了解，直到刚æ‰æ‰ä»Žä¸€å‹äººå¤„了解到一些æ¯"较全é¢ä¸"真实的情况，在æ¤å'表，希望版主能让æ¤è´´è¿…速通过并置顶以引起大家的关注，以æ¤æ¥ä¸ºæˆ'家乡人æ°'谋求一ä¸å¸Œæœ›ï¼å¦åˆ™å†è¿™æ ·ä¸‹åŽ»ï¼Œæˆ'们这些身在异乡的贵州人将æ- 颜é¢å¯¹å®¶ä¹¡çˆ¶è€ã€‚
。。。
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Guizhou is already at 5 or 6 below zero, the limits of wet cold. Soon it will be taking away people's body heat. The people of Guizhou are already short of water and
electricity, and in the midst of a food crisis, with no guarantee on resources, making life for them bleak beyond the imaginable.I hope the weather ends soon. With care and sympathy from
Chengdu.Who's going to rescue the Guizhouers trapped in the snow?News is everywhere now of the snow catastrophe, and Guizhou has been one of the hardest-hit regions. I'm from
Guizhou, living now in Beijing, and that's why I'm paying particular attention to the Guizhou disaster. I've noticed that there's not much to be found out about what's happening
there now from the internet, television, newspapers or magazines, so I've been keeping in regular touch with family members and relatives, over the phone and through SMS, and I've learned that
the traffic situation is horrible, but even less about places like Duyun and Fuquan with no power supply. Right until just now when I got from one friend a pretty comprehensive picture, which I'll
post here, and I hope the webmaster hikes this up so more people see it, and to give the people back where I'm from a shred of hope! If things keep on the way they are, us Guizhoers around the
country won't have enough face left to go back and face the folks at home.
[…]
“Renhuai is already a dead city, it's so tragic. No water, no electricity, no supplies and no oil. All roads have been closed for two weeks already, and even the main streets are layered with ice. The ice on the roofs of houses is seven centimeters thick, and people have already frozen to death. The crematory has no fuel to burn the bodies with, it's tragic. Our whole squad can barely stay on the road (they're traffic police), this is more merciless than anything I've seen before. Sometimes I even wonder if this isn't a movie, it makes things a lot easier to handle! Today we finally got three hours of electricity and then it stopped again. I'm going back now to turn on the server UPS (this is a kind of power source) as I'm almost out of power. So tired.The central government wasn't led to pay this much attention when the cold first struck, so there wasn't any preparation. If the central government doesn't keep up the emergency goods air drops, we're going to have large-scale deaths here.”I ask what the situation is now in Renhuai, if the government has taken action, and he answers: “they can't move anything in, the fuel transport truck flipped on the road, and even the administrative center has no power; coal on the street is selling for 12 RMB a jin, candles 5 RMB a piece, and frozen cooked cabbage at 5 RMB a jin is still limited. There's nothing the government can do.”I ask him how long they can last. “Two days at most, and if we haven't been saved by then, there are going to be mountains of corpses.”
News we could hear sooner than not; at least in Guangdong province, local transportation authorities didn't hesitate
to repeat the true situation of tracks restored and numbers heading homle in the face of Ministry (and The Minister) of Railways' fabrications to that effect during Wen Jiabao's visit to the
provincial capital's train station earlier this week.Making the most of the situation, a group of boys in hard-hit Bijie, Guizhou, filmed themselves hiking up to a local television transmission tower where locals are passing the time playing on an sloped ice patch:
View original post.
[…]
“Renhuai is already a dead city, it's so tragic. No water, no electricity, no supplies and no oil. All roads have been closed for two weeks already, and even the main streets are layered with ice. The ice on the roofs of houses is seven centimeters thick, and people have already frozen to death. The crematory has no fuel to burn the bodies with, it's tragic. Our whole squad can barely stay on the road (they're traffic police), this is more merciless than anything I've seen before. Sometimes I even wonder if this isn't a movie, it makes things a lot easier to handle! Today we finally got three hours of electricity and then it stopped again. I'm going back now to turn on the server UPS (this is a kind of power source) as I'm almost out of power. So tired.The central government wasn't led to pay this much attention when the cold first struck, so there wasn't any preparation. If the central government doesn't keep up the emergency goods air drops, we're going to have large-scale deaths here.”I ask what the situation is now in Renhuai, if the government has taken action, and he answers: “they can't move anything in, the fuel transport truck flipped on the road, and even the administrative center has no power; coal on the street is selling for 12 RMB a jin, candles 5 RMB a piece, and frozen cooked cabbage at 5 RMB a jin is still limited. There's nothing the government can do.”I ask him how long they can last. “Two days at most, and if we haven't been saved by then, there are going to be mountains of corpses.”
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