The MOFCOM spokesman Sun Jiwen accepted an interview on Chinese government’s three rounds of relief supplies to quake-hit Nepal on May 14.
Sun said the MOFCOM took the lead to work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and the General Staff Headquarters to organize and conduct three rounds of emergency humanitarian assistance to quake-hit Nepal with a combined value of RMB 140 million.
Under the guidance of the righteous idea of morality and benefit proposed by President Xi Jinping, China’s aid to Nepal is righteous with the following three characteristics: firstly, swift response. The Chinese government is one of the first countries to provide Nepal with assistance and to send rescue team to Nepal. After the earthquake, the MOFCOM launched emergency humanitarian rescue mechanism immediately to organize and transport the relief supplies as soon as possible. The aid project team in Nepal also joined the local rescue work while trying to save themselves from danger, they provided the local people with all their food and tents in stock and managed to save eight Nepalese people in the golden time of the first 72 hours. Secondly, constant help. The first round of relief supplies aimed to solve accommodation problems. Many victims in Nepal lost their residence in the earthquake and the tents and blankets were in urgent needs. The second relief supplies aimed to solve the health and security problems after earthquake and added water purifiers and first-aid kits. The 7.5 magnitude aftershock hit Nepal on May 12. To help the Nepalese side fight against secondary disaster and relocate the victims well, the Chinese government launched the third round of relief supplies to the disaster areas in Nepal, mainly including water-proof tarpaulin, tents and family health package. The three rounds of assistance were advanced orderly to meet the most urgent needs of the disaster areas at different period so as to ensure the constant and positive assistance. Thirdly, the joint efforts of the governmental departments and non-governmental departments. Besides the emergency humanitarian assistance launched by the Chinese government and large-scale cross-border relief action initiated by the Chinese army, China’s civil relief team and volunteers were also the first to hurry to the disaster areas, while attending the rescue work were also people from China-funded enterprises and the Chinese people in Nepal. The China-funded enterprises make full use of their own advantages to repair the roads and restore the communications for the local people, and to provide traffic help and accommodation for the stranded Chinese tourists in Nepal. They have made the Nepalese people genuinely feel the Chinese people’s kindness and the Chinese victims in Nepal feel the support from our fellow countrymen.
China’s aid to Nepal started in 1956. Over the recent 60 years, China has carried out over 110 various kinds of projects in Nepal including civil service hospitals, comprehensive technical schools, National Research Center for Nature Conservation Foundation and traditional Chinese medicine research center, which have withstood the test of strong earthquake and were named “strong buildings”. In addition, the Chinese side also trained about 2,500 talents in various fields for Nepal. China’s aid has played a positive role in promoting Nepal’s economic and social development.
In recent years, China has suffered from the Sichuan Wenchuan Earthquake, the Qinghai Yushu Earthquake, and the Yunnan Ludian Earthquake. Many countries including Nepal offered China the emergency assistance, imprinted on the mind of the Chinese government and Chinese people, and we feel great sympathy for the Nepalese government and its people’s suffering. We also call on the international society here to make active efforts to further cooperation and join the earthquake relief work and post-quake reconstruction together with the Nepalese government and the Nepalese people.