China New Year travel chaos
Severe winter weather has hit much of China as millions of migrant workers begin their annual trek home for the Lunar New Year next week.
Railways, motorways and airports were closed earlier this week due to freezing temperatures and the worst snowstorms in half a century in southern, central and eastern China. The storms are expected to continue for several more days. Travellers have been warned to give up on the holiday and return to the cities where they work.
"For the sake of their safety, and relieving the stress on transport, I advise migrant workers to stay in the cities where they work," Zheng Guoguang, chief of the China Meteorological Administration, told the China Daily.
"In normal weather conditions, it would take at least one week for full restoration of power supplies. Against the current backdrop, it will take far longer for electricity supplies, and road and railway traffic to return to normal."
This has caused anger and dissatisfaction amongst the people, deeply critical of the government's response to the crisis. In a bid to reassure the discontented public, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has embarked on a public relations tour of the worst hit areas.
“The weather has brought a lot of inconvenience to everyone and has led to time delays,” Mr. Wen said to the crowds of stranded passengers at Guangzhou's main train station. Guangzhou is the capital of the Guangdong Province in southern China, where the largest number of migrant workers live.
“Currently every level of government is working on getting electricity restored, and after that transport will resume,” Mr. Wen said, according to the New York Times.
A record 180 million rail travellers were expected this New Year, often the only opportunity millions of migrant workers have to take a break from poorly paid jobs in the city to enjoy with their families.
State media reports say at least 50 people have died as a result of the weather. Almost 500,000 troops have been deployed to aid relief efforts and the government has promised at least $30 million in emergency funding. After a year of health and safety disasters the Chinese government will be hoping to rebuild confidence before the Beijing Olympics start this summer.
Written by: Maxine Clarke
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