Sichuan

Panda back at center

A giant panda which went missing from a major panda base in southwest Sichuan province after the May 12 earthquake was captured at 11:20 am yesterday.

The panda, named Xi Xi, was found in the woods about 200 m downstream from a river near the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Wolong.

It was anesthetized and sent back to the center, staff at the center said yesterday. A total of six pandas in the Wolong center disappeared after the quake, but four later returned. Another one is still missing.

New school opens

A primary school was opened on Sunday in Yuquan town, Mianzhu, Sichuan province, the biggest school in the city so far. The newly constructed school, covering more than 2,000 sq m, is capable of accommodating 1,421 students from a middle school and three primary schools which were damaged by the quake. The school was built by the China Youth Development Foundation.

Beijing

Courts to get tough

China`s Chief Justice Wang Shengjun yesterday asked local courts in the quake-hit zone to impose stiff penalties for crimes including corruption.

The courts should impose severe punishment in line with the laws on corruption and malpractice, Wang, president of the Supreme People`s Court of China, said.

Local courts should also be fully aware of the importance of maintaining stability in the quake-hit regions.

Topping the courts` agenda will be offenders who spread rumors, steal and damage public utility facilities, such as electricity and transport, counterfeit commodities, and produce substandard food and medicines.

Donations mount

Cash and material donations organized by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs have amounted to 1.6 billion yuan ($230 million) as of Sunday.

Organizations receiving donations included the Red Cross Society of China Beijing branch, Beijing Charity Association, Beijing Management Center for Donations for Disaster Relief, Beijing Youth Development Foundation, and donation stations set up in 18 districts and counties. The bureau and Beijing quality inspection and supervision departments have also joined hands in checking and securing the quality of relief materials purchased or donated from the capital, according to a press release yesterday.

Watch on drugs

The State Food and Drug Administration yesterday sent an 8-member team to Sichuan province to bolster drug market monitoring and safety in the disaster areas.

The team comprises three people from the headquarters of the administration in Beijing, three from Chongqing and two from Guizhou.

Cambodia chips in

The China Hong Kong and Macao Expatriate and Business Association of Cambodia yesterday donated $301,000 to the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia for quake relief. It was the largest single donation so far in the kingdom.

Also yesterday, the Association of Chinese in Cambodia donated more than $200,000.

Until yesterday, the embassy had received some $1.16 million in donations from the Cambodian government, the Cambodian royal family, Chinese, and Chinese Cambodian societies.

Injured transferred

A total of 5,914 people injured in the May 12 earthquake had been taken from southwest Sichuan province for treatment elsewhere in the country by Sunday, the Ministry of Health said.

A total of 484 patients were taken by air or rail to Shanghai, Tianjin, Hebei and Shandong yesterday. Fifteen provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities are required by the ministry to receive the injured.

Shaanxi

Reservoirs in danger

Three reservoirs are in danger of collapse in northwest China`s Shaanxi province, following the 6.4 magnitude aftershock in Sichuan province on Sunday, the Ministry of Water Resources said yesterday.

The quake had put 2,383 reservoirs nationwide in danger as of yesterday.

China Daily-Xinhua