And with this story, I shall take a break from posting and not come back until I have a better background on algae blooms and their causes, effects and treatments.
(Remember! This is phase two of this project. The phase where I increase research and decrease posting.)
All the best,
Peter Huston
===
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/04/content_8492371.htm
Thousands battle algae bloom in Olympic sailing host city
www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-04 22:31:06 Print
QINGDAO, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of soldiers and volunteers in east China's coastal city of Qingdao, host of the Olympic sailing events, are still battling a major algae bloom on Friday.
More than 1,200 vessels were at sea cleaning the foul-smelling algae, and inflatable barriers were placed near the coastline to prevent the algae from encroaching on the shore.
According to an emergency headquarters set up to clean the algae, its coverage in the sailing competition areas, which span more than 50 square kilometers, had shrunk from 32 percent five days ago to less than 10 percent.
More than 110,000 soldiers and volunteers have been engaged in frantic efforts to cleaning the weeds, which was first spotted at the end of May and started to bloom in mid-June.
A municipal government figure published on Wednesday showed the algae had been nearly halved since late June and covered 48.8 square kilometers of water by Wednesday.
On Friday, sporadic remains of algae floated on the water off the Olympic sailing base. Dozens of boats were at sea gathering the algae. An aerial survey was delayed as rain and fog grounded helicopters.
At beaches near the base, soldiers were bagging piles of green algae which were dragged out of the water.
"It's far better now than a few days before, and the water is clearer. Last week, the air was rancid because of the algae, and we all shut our windows," said Zhang Xiaolei, whose office is near the coast at the May 4th Square.
By Thursday, about 285,000 tons of the algae have been removed from the water and seashore. Officials planned to wipe out the algae, called enteromorpha prolifera, before July 15.
Experts from the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) are working to determine the source and cause of the algae outbreak.
The algae also covered parts of a training area, where sailors from more than 30 countries are training, and sometimes blocked sailing routes and affected preparations for the sailing teams for the Games.
The sailing competitions are scheduled from Aug. 9 to 23.
Editor: Yan Liang
Friday, July 4, 2008
China water: July 4, 2008: Unicef works in China quake zone.
http://www.quamnet.com/newscontent.action?articleId=884596
UNICEF to Support Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in China’s Quake Zone
04 Jul 2008
Xinhua PR Newswire
BEIJING, July 4 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Now that more than 5 million people have been relocated to temporary shelters due to the 12 May Sichuan earthquake, provision of safe water and sanitation is a top priority. A recently concluded UNICEF mission has found that in most tent camps and densely populated settlements, access to safe water and sanitation facilities and the promotion of good hygiene behavior are improving but still inadequate.
According to a June 11 report, the Ministry of Water Resources found that 72,400 rural water supply systems and 36,500 kilometers of water distribution pipelines were damaged by the earthquake, affecting more than 9 million people. A large number of latrines in the worst affected areas have also been damaged. According to UNICEF’s assessment 4,185 villages and 446 townships in the worst affected counties in Sichuan need to repair sanitation facilities.
“In relocation camps and other densely populated settlements there is an urgent need to improve water and sanitation services such as the disposal of human waste, sewage and drainage systems,” said Yang Zhenbo, UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Specialist. Yang has recently returned from a mission to Beichuan, Mianzhu, Shifang, Pengzhou and Dujiangyan in Sichuan.
“Most of the displaced people are using makeshift toilets -- sometimes just very simple pit latrines without water flush or waste treatment facilities. Those latrines are especially dangerous for children and the elderly to use.”
Since the 12 May earthquake no major outbreaks of sanitation and hygiene related illness have been reported. “Chinese authorities have dispatched staff to every settlement to monitor disinfection, the quality of water and food and promotion of hygiene practices,” said Yang, “I am quite impressed with the efficiency of China’s disease control authority.”
Experts suggest that in the next 2 to 3 months, vigorous efforts must be continued to prevent disease outbreaks. As more refugees are transferred to temporary camps, there is a need for expanded response, especially in the provision of sanitation and water facilities in the newer settlements. More water distribution networks will be needed for relocated people who are being moved from the quake-induced lake areas.
UNICEF is finalizing a joint water and sanitation programme with the Government of China to cover the needs of several million children and their families now living in shelters. When finalized, the programme is expected to have a budget of USD 5 million. It will provide technical support and supplies to local partners in water supply, sanitation, hygiene and health education that will cover prefabricated camps, tents, hospitals and schools. The joint project will concentrate on four counties in Sichuan: Pengzhou, Mianzhu, Beichuan, and Qingchuan.
On June 30, UNICEF delivered 25,858 packs of water purification tablets worth US$1,454,081 to Pengzhou and Mianzhu. Another batch of 53,000 packs will arrive in the next few weeks. The whole consignment is expected to benefit 2 million people for 3 months. With the help of such tablets, water pumped from uncertain sources can be made safe to drink, said Ms Nie Ping, UNICEF supply and procurement officer.
About UNICEF in China
UNICEF first assisted China between 1947 and 1951, providing emergency services, food and nutrition, health and hygiene training during and after the Revolutionary War. In 1979 UNICEF officially commenced its cooperation with the Government of China to support child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Original Content: the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief
The office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters is a division of the Chinese national Ministry of Water Resources.
According to the website of the
Ministry of Water Resources:
"The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief headquarters
Deputy Secretary-General: Mr. Zhang Zhitong
Main functions:to organize nationwide activities of flood control and drought relief, undertake the day-to-day work of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, and carry out unified control of water volume from water conservancy and hydropower facilities all over the country following the directives of the Headquarters."
I will try to find some Chinese language sources on this agency soon, as well as its official name in Chinese.
Peter Huston
According to the website of the
Ministry of Water Resources:
"The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief headquarters
Deputy Secretary-General: Mr. Zhang Zhitong
Main functions:to organize nationwide activities of flood control and drought relief, undertake the day-to-day work of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, and carry out unified control of water volume from water conservancy and hydropower facilities all over the country following the directives of the Headquarters."
I will try to find some Chinese language sources on this agency soon, as well as its official name in Chinese.
Peter Huston
China Water: July 3, 2008: Flood toll high. Drought also a problem.
Floods are a chronic problem in China and this year is no exception.
Drought is also a chronic problem in many areas of China.
Here we have two stories that discuss these problems.
Floods in the south and northeast. Drought in the center. No wonder there is an extensive canal network that stretches throughout the country and dates back two thousand years.
And look! A mention of "The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH)" of which Zhang Zhitong, is vice director. This, I confess, is a new agency to me. (Oh the joys of blogging! Unlike many forms of writing for publication, in this case, you the reader, experience the joy of watching my expertise in this field improve as time goes on.
Soon I shall look into this further.
Peter Huston
===
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/02/content_8478536.htm
China floods leave 252 dead, 64 missing as flood season begins
www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-02 23:37:36 Print
BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Flooding and related disasters since the beginning of June have left 252 people dead and 64 missing across China, which saw the start of the main flood season on Tuesday, a senior flood control and drought relief official said on Wednesday.
About 50 million people and 3 million hectares of land were affected, with around 200,000 houses destroyed, Zhang Zhitong, vice director of the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, told a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
"The flood control efforts will be hampered by higher than average rains that are expected soon in the Yellow River areas, parts of northeast provinces as well as the quake zone in southwest China," Zhang said.
He promised the headquarters would take effective measures to protect people during the main flood season.
However, floods in southern China and northeast regions and typhoons along the coast had come early this year, he said.
The Pearl River delta had already embraced the worst floods in more than five decades, and the first typhoon this year was two months earlier than usual when Neoguri made a landfall in south China in April, he said.
Editor: Yan Liang
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/02/content_8477847.htm
China braces for major flood season, lingering drought in north
www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-02 16:45:45 Print
BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- China's flood control and drought relief authorities warned the country was at risk to the major seasonal flooding that had already killed 233 people and affected more than 34 million by Wednesday.
The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH) announced the major flood season had started on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the severe drought, which had caused temporary shortages of drinking water among 7.39 million people and 5.79 million large livestock, would linger in the north.
The SFDH statistics showed the drought affected more than 10.3 million hectares of farmland, worse than the average of the same period last year.
Zhang Zhitong, SFDH office vice director, said the country's major rivers were facing increasing risk of severe flooding as more rain was expected and the southeastern coastal regions were vulnerable to typhoon.
He added the summer drought would possibly occur in southern regions with the Pacific subtropical high moving northwards.
Zhang said recent downpours had mainly lashed the southern regions, pushing up river levels above warning levels and triggering floods. For example, rainfall in most of the southern coastal areas and the northeast of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region ranged between 100 mm to 300 mm in the past week.
Rain had mitigated the drought in north China since June 27, but failed to change the condition as the precipitation was not enough.
He promised the headquarters would take effective measures to protect people from flood danger during the major flood season.
Editor: Amber Yao
Drought is also a chronic problem in many areas of China.
Here we have two stories that discuss these problems.
Floods in the south and northeast. Drought in the center. No wonder there is an extensive canal network that stretches throughout the country and dates back two thousand years.
And look! A mention of "The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH)" of which Zhang Zhitong, is vice director. This, I confess, is a new agency to me. (Oh the joys of blogging! Unlike many forms of writing for publication, in this case, you the reader, experience the joy of watching my expertise in this field improve as time goes on.
Soon I shall look into this further.
Peter Huston
===
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/02/content_8478536.htm
China floods leave 252 dead, 64 missing as flood season begins
www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-02 23:37:36 Print
BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Flooding and related disasters since the beginning of June have left 252 people dead and 64 missing across China, which saw the start of the main flood season on Tuesday, a senior flood control and drought relief official said on Wednesday.
About 50 million people and 3 million hectares of land were affected, with around 200,000 houses destroyed, Zhang Zhitong, vice director of the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, told a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
"The flood control efforts will be hampered by higher than average rains that are expected soon in the Yellow River areas, parts of northeast provinces as well as the quake zone in southwest China," Zhang said.
He promised the headquarters would take effective measures to protect people during the main flood season.
However, floods in southern China and northeast regions and typhoons along the coast had come early this year, he said.
The Pearl River delta had already embraced the worst floods in more than five decades, and the first typhoon this year was two months earlier than usual when Neoguri made a landfall in south China in April, he said.
Editor: Yan Liang
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/02/content_8477847.htm
China braces for major flood season, lingering drought in north
www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-02 16:45:45 Print
BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- China's flood control and drought relief authorities warned the country was at risk to the major seasonal flooding that had already killed 233 people and affected more than 34 million by Wednesday.
The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH) announced the major flood season had started on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the severe drought, which had caused temporary shortages of drinking water among 7.39 million people and 5.79 million large livestock, would linger in the north.
The SFDH statistics showed the drought affected more than 10.3 million hectares of farmland, worse than the average of the same period last year.
Zhang Zhitong, SFDH office vice director, said the country's major rivers were facing increasing risk of severe flooding as more rain was expected and the southeastern coastal regions were vulnerable to typhoon.
He added the summer drought would possibly occur in southern regions with the Pacific subtropical high moving northwards.
Zhang said recent downpours had mainly lashed the southern regions, pushing up river levels above warning levels and triggering floods. For example, rainfall in most of the southern coastal areas and the northeast of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region ranged between 100 mm to 300 mm in the past week.
Rain had mitigated the drought in north China since June 27, but failed to change the condition as the precipitation was not enough.
He promised the headquarters would take effective measures to protect people from flood danger during the major flood season.
Editor: Amber Yao
China Water: July 3, 2008: Quake lakes still pose danger.
http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USPEK34837020080702
China still faces flooding risk from "quake lakes"
Wed Jul 2, 2008 7:14am EDT
BEIJING (Reuters) - Expected heavy rain and the risk of aftershocks mean lakes created in southwestern China after May's massive earthquake are still at risk of flooding, despite preventative work, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Landslides after the 7.9 magnitude quake, which killed about 70,000 people, created 35 so-called "quake lakes", the majority in the hard hit province of Sichuan.
Deputy Water Resources Minister Jiao Yong told a news conference in Beijing that though work to drain the lakes had largely been successful, there was still a threat to hundreds of thousands of people living downstream.
"Although disaster relief efforts have achieved a major initial victory, the flood situation in the disaster area is much more severe than in previous years," he said.
"Rainfall is expected to be much higher than in previous years during the flood season, and there may be large floods," Jiao added.
The government sent hundreds of soldiers, armed with explosives and heavy lifting equipment, to clear the blocked rivers, and evacuated residents downstream, causing further misery for people whose houses were destroyed in the quake.
Jiao cautioned that people could still be in danger.
"The quake lakes which are no longer in danger have yet to go through the experience of large floods. Heavy rain and aftershocks may induce rockslides that lead to more quake lakes," he said.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jerry Norton)
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Extensive commentary: China Water: July 2, 2008: School water poisoned.
Earlier this morning, I stumbled across this story and decided that although 60 children falling ill is important, I did not consider it worth sharing as it was not part of any real pattern or trend that I could see. After all, pesticide poisonings are fairly common in China, and deliberate pesticide patterns tragically so. (i.e. if someone wishes I could give a quick aside on suicide patterns in China, save that they are extremely high with suicides by young rural women using pesticides as the instrument of self-harm being the most common. Unlike most countries, rates of successful suicide among women in China occur at a higher rate than among men. Part of this is due to the frequency with which pesticides are used as the instrument of self-harm.)
However, I've also mentioned that I became interested in this field because I was hired by a trade magazine that dealt with water. I also mentioned that I left that magazine because the workers were more interested in playing strange office games and engaging in work sabotage than in getting interesting work done and that they lacked an international perspective (as well as many other desirable traits). Heck, they had trouble using the metric system. --not to mention the odd forced bowling that they would make employees engage in. (Heck, basically the place was one of two things: Either a stepping stone to something better or a dumping ground for people who lack talent.)
Therefore it was with interest that I discovered that after a glut of news in a nation that has a huge amount of fascinating water news, and their consistently ignoring such news, for some odd reason they chose this piece to share with the world as if it were the most important piece of news to occur in China in ages. (???) So. if they've chosen to share this story, I'm just petty enough to dissect what they did.
Here's what they wrote:
"BEIJING — More than 60 primary schoolchildren in southern China fell ill after drinking publicly supplied water that may have been deliberately poisoned, according to a July 1 report from the Chinese government news agency Xinhau.
The water in the school’s storage tank smelled of pesticide, and police found an empty bottle that they said may have contained the poison, Xinhua said.
Thirty-four were hospitalized, suffering from headaches and nausea. The others were under observation at their rural school in Guangxi province, the report said.
The county health department drained the water and disinfected the area.
The investigation is continuing. Meanwhile, the county education department is being accused of mismanagement, the report said."
For starters, they not only misspelled "Xinhua" but they did not even mis-spell it consistently. Secondly "Guangxi" is not technically a province. See, Facts and map about Guangxi Zhuang Nor did they even try to explain where it is located or teach anything about it.
So let's look at the actual Xinhua report:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/01/content_8471568.htm
Police suspect deliberate poisoning of S China schoolchildren
www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-01 22:42:55 Print
GUILIN, Guangxi, July 1 (Xinhua) -- More than 60 children fell sick after drinking water that is suspected of beinge deliberately poisoned at a primary school in southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Tuesday.
Thirty-four of the children were still being treated at the People's Hospital of Guanyang County, where the incident happened, and their parents had arrived to take care of them, said Zou Xin, vice head of the county government.
The rest were under observation at school, said Zou.
The children, all from the boarding school at Dengjia Village, of Xinjie Town, suffered stomachaches, headaches and nausea after drinking the water provided by a public water supplier at the school dining room in the morning.
"It is a surprise. It happened before class. Luckily, some of the children in the school just didn't drink the water," said a teacher, who declined to give his name.
Police found the water of the school's storage tank smelled of pesticide and had an ivory-white substance floating in it. An empty Coke bottle, which is suspected of containing the poison, was found by the tank.
An investigation into the incident is underway. The county education department has accused the school of mismanagement.
The county health department staff had the water discharged and the pool disinfected later in the day and the water supply has resumed.
Editor: Yan Liang"
Now looking more closely, you will see that the article from this water magazine contains several errors. (I said these people were stupid. It seems they cannot even copy correctly.)
1. I already mentioned that they mistated Guangxi as being a province when the article clearly labels it as "Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region."
2. They neglect to mention when the event happened, a full week ago. This is one of the basic 5 Ws of journalism.
3. Is "publicly supplied water" the same as "water supplied by a public supplier"?
4. They give the dateline as Beijing when the dateline is Guilin. They are not very close to each other.
5.They say the area was disinfected while the story says the water tank was disinfected.
6. They wrote the County Education Department has been accused of mismanagement. In fact, the story says that the County Education Department has accused the school of mismanagement.
7. Note that Xinhua is described as the "Chinese government news agency." This is more or less correct, however, these people never made any attempt to verify or check the government source with other news sources. I worked with these folks and they always seemed to find the notion of a state-controlled press to be an insurmountable obstacle, and therefore tend to neglect covering China.
For those interested, here's the Reuters story. You will note that they tie the story in with fears of unsafe toys and food coming out of China. Personally, I find the connection far fetched, to say the least.
http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USPEK326469
Children ill after water poisoned in China school
Tue Jul 1, 2008 1:47pm EDT
BEIJING, July 1 (Reuters) - More than 60 children fell ill after drinking water that may have been deliberately poisoned at a primary school in southern China, state media reported on Tuesday.
Thirty-four were still in hospital, suffering from headaches and nausea, and the rest were under observation at their rural school in Guangxi province after drinking the water in their school canteen, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The water in the school's storage tank smelled of pesticide and police found an empty bottle that they suspected of containing the poison, Xinhua said.
While the investigation is continuing, local education officials have already accused the school of mismanagement, it added.
Scandals involving substandard food or medicines are reported regularly by Chinese media and schools have been involved before.
A primary school headmistress was jailed last year for taking kickbacks from an unlicensed food company that indirectly led to nearly 200 children falling ill. In a separate case last year, a college student was arrested on suspicion of poisoning his classmates' water.
Food and drug safety in China has grabbed global attention over the past year after its products sparked scares abroad, from substandard pet feed in the United States to allegedly tainted dumplings in Japan. (Reporting by Simon Rabinovitch; editing by Dominic Evans)
However, I've also mentioned that I became interested in this field because I was hired by a trade magazine that dealt with water. I also mentioned that I left that magazine because the workers were more interested in playing strange office games and engaging in work sabotage than in getting interesting work done and that they lacked an international perspective (as well as many other desirable traits). Heck, they had trouble using the metric system. --not to mention the odd forced bowling that they would make employees engage in. (Heck, basically the place was one of two things: Either a stepping stone to something better or a dumping ground for people who lack talent.)
Therefore it was with interest that I discovered that after a glut of news in a nation that has a huge amount of fascinating water news, and their consistently ignoring such news, for some odd reason they chose this piece to share with the world as if it were the most important piece of news to occur in China in ages. (???) So. if they've chosen to share this story, I'm just petty enough to dissect what they did.
Here's what they wrote:
"BEIJING — More than 60 primary schoolchildren in southern China fell ill after drinking publicly supplied water that may have been deliberately poisoned, according to a July 1 report from the Chinese government news agency Xinhau.
The water in the school’s storage tank smelled of pesticide, and police found an empty bottle that they said may have contained the poison, Xinhua said.
Thirty-four were hospitalized, suffering from headaches and nausea. The others were under observation at their rural school in Guangxi province, the report said.
The county health department drained the water and disinfected the area.
The investigation is continuing. Meanwhile, the county education department is being accused of mismanagement, the report said."
For starters, they not only misspelled "Xinhua" but they did not even mis-spell it consistently. Secondly "Guangxi" is not technically a province. See, Facts and map about Guangxi Zhuang Nor did they even try to explain where it is located or teach anything about it.
So let's look at the actual Xinhua report:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/01/content_8471568.htm
Police suspect deliberate poisoning of S China schoolchildren
www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-01 22:42:55 Print
GUILIN, Guangxi, July 1 (Xinhua) -- More than 60 children fell sick after drinking water that is suspected of beinge deliberately poisoned at a primary school in southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Tuesday.
Thirty-four of the children were still being treated at the People's Hospital of Guanyang County, where the incident happened, and their parents had arrived to take care of them, said Zou Xin, vice head of the county government.
The rest were under observation at school, said Zou.
The children, all from the boarding school at Dengjia Village, of Xinjie Town, suffered stomachaches, headaches and nausea after drinking the water provided by a public water supplier at the school dining room in the morning.
"It is a surprise. It happened before class. Luckily, some of the children in the school just didn't drink the water," said a teacher, who declined to give his name.
Police found the water of the school's storage tank smelled of pesticide and had an ivory-white substance floating in it. An empty Coke bottle, which is suspected of containing the poison, was found by the tank.
An investigation into the incident is underway. The county education department has accused the school of mismanagement.
The county health department staff had the water discharged and the pool disinfected later in the day and the water supply has resumed.
Editor: Yan Liang"
Now looking more closely, you will see that the article from this water magazine contains several errors. (I said these people were stupid. It seems they cannot even copy correctly.)
1. I already mentioned that they mistated Guangxi as being a province when the article clearly labels it as "Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region."
2. They neglect to mention when the event happened, a full week ago. This is one of the basic 5 Ws of journalism.
3. Is "publicly supplied water" the same as "water supplied by a public supplier"?
4. They give the dateline as Beijing when the dateline is Guilin. They are not very close to each other.
5.They say the area was disinfected while the story says the water tank was disinfected.
6. They wrote the County Education Department has been accused of mismanagement. In fact, the story says that the County Education Department has accused the school of mismanagement.
7. Note that Xinhua is described as the "Chinese government news agency." This is more or less correct, however, these people never made any attempt to verify or check the government source with other news sources. I worked with these folks and they always seemed to find the notion of a state-controlled press to be an insurmountable obstacle, and therefore tend to neglect covering China.
For those interested, here's the Reuters story. You will note that they tie the story in with fears of unsafe toys and food coming out of China. Personally, I find the connection far fetched, to say the least.
http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USPEK326469
Children ill after water poisoned in China school
Tue Jul 1, 2008 1:47pm EDT
BEIJING, July 1 (Reuters) - More than 60 children fell ill after drinking water that may have been deliberately poisoned at a primary school in southern China, state media reported on Tuesday.
Thirty-four were still in hospital, suffering from headaches and nausea, and the rest were under observation at their rural school in Guangxi province after drinking the water in their school canteen, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The water in the school's storage tank smelled of pesticide and police found an empty bottle that they suspected of containing the poison, Xinhua said.
While the investigation is continuing, local education officials have already accused the school of mismanagement, it added.
Scandals involving substandard food or medicines are reported regularly by Chinese media and schools have been involved before.
A primary school headmistress was jailed last year for taking kickbacks from an unlicensed food company that indirectly led to nearly 200 children falling ill. In a separate case last year, a college student was arrested on suspicion of poisoning his classmates' water.
Food and drug safety in China has grabbed global attention over the past year after its products sparked scares abroad, from substandard pet feed in the United States to allegedly tainted dumplings in Japan. (Reporting by Simon Rabinovitch; editing by Dominic Evans)
Original content: China Water: July 2, 2008; Spanish water expo brings attention, tension for China's water situation.
Today in Zaragoza, Spain, the world water expo is taking place. China is participating.
http://zaragozame.com/2008/06/17/china-exhibition-hall-makes-debut-in-expo-zaragoza-2008/
According to RedOrbit.com there is a protest by many NGOs at the expo focusing on China's participation at the conference and China's water policies. The primary area of concern, says the article, is sustainability of these policies but other concerns include chronic corruption and human rights abuses manifesting themselves through China's water policies. RedOrbit cites a July 1, 2008, Spanish language source at ABC , a respected Spanish newspaper, but I was not able to find the original (although I do read Spanish.)
The Chinese, as tends to be the case, were quite excited by their participation in the international event and stories about the expo were carried at Shanghai Daily and The People's Daily Online.
Click here, for a Canadian overview of the exhibition.
http://zaragozame.com/2008/06/17/china-exhibition-hall-makes-debut-in-expo-zaragoza-2008/
According to RedOrbit.com there is a protest by many NGOs at the expo focusing on China's participation at the conference and China's water policies. The primary area of concern, says the article, is sustainability of these policies but other concerns include chronic corruption and human rights abuses manifesting themselves through China's water policies. RedOrbit cites a July 1, 2008, Spanish language source at ABC , a respected Spanish newspaper, but I was not able to find the original (although I do read Spanish.)
The Chinese, as tends to be the case, were quite excited by their participation in the international event and stories about the expo were carried at Shanghai Daily and The People's Daily Online.
Click here, for a Canadian overview of the exhibition.
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