Sichuan earthquake 2013

plawolf

Lieutenant General
That's pretty cool actually. If they can put some spider legs on it, it would make the ultimate disaster rescue vehicle (OT, but would it still qualify as a vehicle without any wheels?) able to clank over rubble without needing the road to be cleared ahead of it in order to deploy.
 

MwRYum

Major
That's pretty cool actually. If they can put some spider legs on it, it would make the ultimate disaster rescue vehicle (OT, but would it still qualify as a vehicle without any wheels?) able to clank over rubble without needing the road to be cleared ahead of it in order to deploy.

Then they'd make it too complicated. Hydraulics can only do so much, beyond that you'd make things too heavy and complicated that'd outweight any potential benefit. If China has good supply of heavy-lifting helicopter available, they could airlift heavy machinery into the area, not getting bottle necked by the bad roads that'd take days to clear a lane big enough for army trucks and flatbeds to travel.

On the other hand, the planned SAR gov't donation effectively got canned because the legislators won't stop droning about the you-know-what, and major newspapers (free and paid ones alike) fired on all cylinders telling why HK-ers donations and all are nothing but humbug...envy those of you lots who living somewhere else, me got force-fed all those crap everytime I walk on the street or turn on the TV.
 

Franklin

Captain
Latest military technologies help China's quake rescue

The latest development of military technologies, including a satellite navigation system and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), has helped China carry out more efficient rescue and relief efforts after Saturday's strong earthquake.

At the field headquarters of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Chengdu Military Area Command (MAC) set up for quake rescue and relief, many important deployments have been made based on latest pictures of the quake-hit areas taken by satellites, drones and reconnaissance aircrafts.

"From these high resolution pictures taken from the air, we can tell where there are landslides, which roads are blocked and which parts are damaged most," said Zhou Xiaozhou, head of the rescue headquarters of Chengdu MAC.

The 7.0-magnitude earthquake, which jolted southwest China's Sichuan Province on Saturday morning, has left 193 dead, 25 missing and 12,211 injured as of 6 a.m. Tuesday.

So far the rescue and relief teams have responded quickly mainly because the country has established an aerial intelligence network covering a large area and collecting precise information in an efficient way, Zhou said.

According to Zhou, shortly after the quake, the PLA Navy sent out its remote sensing aircrafts from the base in Sichuan to find out the situation of Lushan County, the quake epicenter and a remote mountainous region.

In the meantime, the PLA Air Force mobilized its helicopters and reconnaissance aircrafts to update the situation of the quake-hit areas and guide rescuers on land.

To acquire more geographic information of the quake-hit area and the disaster's damage, the National Defense Bureau of Science, Technology and Industry initiated an emergency space mission to collect remote sensing data of the quake-hit area by using five satellites flying over on Saturday.

In lower airspace, the quake-relief troops have used UAVs to map small-size or narrow locations in the quake zone where manned reconnaissance aircraft could hardly reach.

In most parts of Lushan, the strong quake damaged communication, transport and power supply facilities, adding difficulties for the rescue force who had to trek through narrow mountain roads and under the threat of landslides.

The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has enabled land rescuers to communicate among each other and with the headquarters, said Lang Anwu, chief of staff of an artillery regiment under the 13th Combined Corps of PLA Army, which has engaged in the rescue mission in Lushan.

The BDS is China's homegrown satellite navigation system. The country has already sent 16 satellites to space for the system and the BDS is expected to cover the globe with a constellation of over 30 satellites by around 2020.

To help more quake-relief troops, the PLA's General Staff Headquarters has provided additional 260 sets of the Beidou system to the quake zones. At least 363 sets of the hand-held Beidou system have been equipped in the quake zones.

"Each squad has been equipped with the BDS terminal device so that the headquarters can locate them at any time and send out orders," Lang said.

In the early hours after the quake, the transport of injured people and rescue teams has largely depended on helicopters and planes.

With China's indigenous Beidou system, the quake-relief headquarters can not only acquire every rescue unit's real-time location and maneuver but also contact them even if telecommunication is cut off.

Air strength has played a vital role in rescue. Three hours after the quake, a cargo plane took off to ship a national rescue team to the quake-hit area while four emergency helicopter squads rushed to the worst-hit areas to locate and set up temporary helipads.

In the first 72 hours since the quake, the air force shipped about 900 people out and more than 120 tonnes of relief material into the quake zone.

Since roads to some remote townships and villages were frequently blocked by sliding rocks, the Air Force started the first airdrop operation on Monday, delivering food and water for thousands of homeless survivors.

"The efficiency of rescue and relief work is closely linked to the capacity of air support," said Cai Suwei, a senior Air Force officer commanding the rescue work. "We need to further improve the fast response capacity of the Air Force so as to minimize the casualty in natural disasters."

The military medical aid teams have also adopted new technologies to save more lives salvaged from under the debris.

A medical team from the Beijing-based PLA's General Hospital has brought a telemedicine system supported by satellite communications to field operation shelter vehicles in the quake zones.

Within the first 24 hours after the quake, a 12-year-old girl was saved from Baoxing County but her condition became critical due to internal bleeding.

Two surgeons of the medical team consulted on the girl's condition with more experts of the PLA's General Hospital in Beijing through the telemedicine system, who guided the surgeons to remove the girl's ruptured spleen.

One week before the quake, the Chinese government published a new national defense white paper to illustrate why and how the country employs its armed forces in a more diversified way in peace time.

The document stressed that participating in emergency rescue and disaster relief is one of the most important tasks for China's armed forces since it is one of the countries most vulnerable to natural disasters.

China has formed nine state-level professional emergency-response teams for flood relief, earthquake rescue and other emergencies, according to the white paper.

A total of 19,000 soldiers and officers from China's military and armed police forces have been sent to quake-hit areas in Sichuan since Saturday.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
 

AssassinsMace

Lieutenant General
That's pretty cool actually. If they can put some spider legs on it, it would make the ultimate disaster rescue vehicle (OT, but would it still qualify as a vehicle without any wheels?) able to clank over rubble without needing the road to be cleared ahead of it in order to deploy.

It probably can do a basic form of it right now with its existing arms. I've seen plenty of pics and videos of people loading up a bulldozer on the flatbed of a transport truck without using a ramp and just using the arm of the bulldozer itself. It just might need another arm in the back for stability or now it might be able to move awkwardly with the two it has now. It would probably just be a stunt and not very practical in actual work.
 
There are a few things that made this quake not as deadly:

1. Magnitude-one magnitude less means a lot less energy released;
2. Back in 2008, a whole town completely wipe off from the map, this time at least so far that didn't repeated;
3. Infrastructure damage wasn't as severe as it was in 2008. With the land roads not completely cut off, a certain level of vehicular and human traffic is still possible, though the blockages hinder the deployment of heavy machinery and supply convoys into the affected areas;
4. Timing - Saturday morning instead of a Monday afternoon after lunchtime;
5. Communications were not as cut-off as it was in 2008. Blackouts and damages to cellphone facilities are unavoidable but still localized; repairs were quick and by the 21st services in areas including the epicenter are resumed.

The response of the authorities was noticeably swifter this time round, thus far we haven't see the kind of mad scrambling.

And speaking of donations, there're some disturbing "noises" now circulating in HK, mainly from the usual "anti-government" suspects, calling people not to donate because it'd only fatten somebody's coffers, and China has more money...


Some people still taking their cue from the BBC, who ran this story immediately after the severity of the earthquake was known. One has to question BBC's motivation and intentions.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


China's Red Cross fights to win back trust
By Celia Hatton
BBC News, Beijing

Following Saturday's Sichuan earthquake, the appeal from the Chinese Red Cross, the country's largest charity, seemed fairly straightforward.

"The quake zone urgently needs tents, quilt, instant food, drinking water and medical goods," the charity posted to Weibo, China's version of Twitter. "Please try your best to donate cash."

In response, hundreds of thousands of people quickly posted emoticons giving the government-run charity a literal thumbs-down.

"People around me are all hesitating whether to donate to the earthquake zone," wrote online user Li Yapingww. "They don't know if their hard-earned money can reach the victims."

Another user, named "Lao Xu", was enraged by a photo of Chinese Red Cross employees in the quake zone. "They're eating instant noodles while wearing expensive watches. These photos are just asking for criticism."

Designer watches are at the tip of the charity organisation's image problem: the organisation has yet to recover from a series of scandals that began after the Sichuan earthquake in 2008.

Back then, the Chinese Red Cross was designated as one of two charities that could legally accept donations. Smaller organisations were told to funnel their donations to their larger counterparts.

Tarnished reputation

According to China's state-run media, over $12.4 bn US dollars (£8.1 bn) in goods and services were donated to quake victims in the year after the 2008 Sichuan quake.

However, the charity's reputation was soon tarnished. Some monitoring the quake's rebuilding efforts accused Red Cross officials of misusing donations by purchasing needlessly expensive tents and vehicles, though those allegations were denied.

In 2009, researchers at Tsinghua University revealed that 80% of charitable donations after 2008's Sichuan earthquake were funnelled into Chinese government coffers as "extra revenue".

At the time, some contended this was appropriate, since the government was best equipped to rebuild the quake zone.

Others complained the Red Cross donations would be impossible to track, leading to fears of corruption.

In April 2011, revelations of an extravagant banquet attended by Red Cross officials costing almost 10,000 yuan ($1,600; £1,050) spurred criticism online. The amount is considered high within China, especially for employees of a charity. Officials apologised and offered to foot part of the bill themselves.

Months later, the organisation was decimated by a much bigger scandal when a glamorous young woman calling herself "Guo Meimei" posted online photos of herself posing with luxury cars and designer handbags.

Ms Guo boasted that she was the "general manager" of the China Red Cross Commerce Department - a commercial organisation with murky links to the charity.

It turned out that Ms Guo had inflated her own title, but the damage had already been done: many donors had scrutinised the photos of Guo's extravagant lifestyle and had concluded that the Red Cross was wasting their money.

That year, the charity registered a 60% drop in private donations.

"At the moment, many Chinese people are hostile to government officials and rich people," explains Jia Xijin, deputy professor of public management at Tsinghua University.

"So now, they've also started to question government-sponsored institutions."

The Chinese Red Cross has been trying to reform its image. Last December, the Chinese Red Cross formed a 16-member committee to improve its transparency.

Most concerned citizens don't have any other choice but to trust the Chinese Red Cross with their earthquake donations, since once again, the charity is one of the only organisations that can receive money for victims of the current crisis.

"I don't believe in the Red Cross, but I choose to believe those who participate in the rescue work on the front line. They need to be respected," rationalises Weibo user Juan er.

"Those who are corrupt are the top officials and those who suffer are the people at the bottom. Blindly cursing at people won't prove how moral you are."
 
Last edited:
Some people still taking their cue from the BBC, who ran this story immediately after the severity of the earthquake was known. One has to question BBC's motivation and intentions.

I don't think there are any motivations or intentions. Recently after the quake hit, these stories were all over everyone's mouths in Hong Kong regarding whether they should donate. Similar accusations were made regarding a few other large donation agencies as well, but China's Red Cross is the highlight and the most notable of them all. The reason is because China Red Cross isn't an NGO(non-GOVERNMENTAL org) unlike the other counterparts around the world, and by that, China Red Cross is actually relevant to the Chinese government or department if I recall.

As a result, many people in HK now are hesitant about donating or supporting the earthquake relief effort because the biggest concern was that much of the funds that was donated by HK in 2008 went missing or disappeared elsewhere without a trace or unable to be accounted for. Some reports even revealed that funds that were formerly provided by the donation agencies to the local governments to reconstruct public schools and houses ended up abused. There was this one public school that was built in the aftermath of the quake with the funds provided by donation agnecies that collected the money from HK. Years later some reporters went back to the site of the school only to find a mansion standing where that public school had been earlier. There's another case where a building that was built turned out to come out to only be used as a landfill. In addition to that, there are also many reports coming out that many in China area, especially some of the people at the scene, aren't even offering a basic helping hand to the refugees, which is also causing quite an uproar of why within China there are many who won't even offer to help their own people while others are. HK was the leading donor for the earthquake relief effort in 2008, and also ranked 2nd in Asia(19th in the world),(after the Philippines) in Most giving, while S. Korea is around 54, Japan 85, and China 141, so the findings is something to heed attention to. Finally, although I'd really think this time's efforts are much faster than 2008, I'm also hearing rather much negative reports as well at the same time.
Finally, this issue is actually a very realistic one to do with criticisms of NGO activisms. Many orgs, including World Vision, are reported to channel a very high proportion of their funds to "administrative fees", leaving not that much truly going to the the refugees. This could be seen from the senior management's annual salary, which goes up to 6 digits. Similar criticisms were also directed at the UNICEF as well. However the only difference between that one and this incident is that here the funds are suspected to have gone to the corrupted official's pockets, and with a significant amount not accounted for.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!



好心人每年都捐款400元 竟有90%善款不知去向 E-mail 此主題給朋友
[隱藏]
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


深圳一位好心人,為幫助外地貧困兒童,每年匯款400元,然而到孩子手上的卻只有40元,她在此期間給孩子 寄信時放在信封裡的錢也杳無蹤跡。而且直到多年後,雙方見面才知道事情的真相。此事經網友發布後,引起了廣 泛轉載。

多次寫信所附的錢也不見了

愛心捐款居然被克扣90%,真有此事還是有人在惡作劇?為了解事情真相,記者多方打聽聯系到了捐款人陳女士 的女兒小阮。她介紹,母親開始為江西貧困兒童小喜提供幫助是20年前的事了,家裡人也是10年後才知道。1 993年,媽媽在深圳南苑新村居住,其間陸續讓大女兒代筆給小喜寫信,每次都不忘在信封裡給小喜寄點零花錢 。

1999年,小喜初中畢業一年後讓在東莞打工的叔叔聯系陳女士,希望她能幫自己在深圳找份工作。見面後兩人 在無意的交談中驚訝地發現,整整6年,陳女士每年給小喜寄去400多元錢,到他手裡卻只有40元,每次讓大 女兒代筆寄過去的信小喜一封都沒有收到,直到小喜後來到當地部隊服役,才收到陳女士寄來的一封信和20元錢 。
記者隨後聯系現住在中山市的陳女士。提起此事,她更是萬分無奈。原來,當時一個慈善助學項目在深圳和江西兩 座城市之間舉辦了手牽手活動,長期在南苑新村居委會做義工的陳女士得知每年400多元就可以幫助一個孩子上 學,立即申請加入,希望幫助小喜完成學業。此後近10年裡,陳女士根據居委會提供的學校地址,每次定時將錢 匯給小喜所在學校。

「我做義工每月是80元補貼費,這些錢也是平時節省下來的。」陳女士表示,除此之外,每次給小喜的信件中都 會附帶幾十元現金給他。離開部隊後的小喜來到陳女士家的工廠工作,這時陳女士才發現自己這麼多年給小喜寄去 的錢都被「克扣」了。

作為被資助對象,小喜得知每年陳女士給他寄的是400多元錢時,整個人都呆了。他很難相信,整整6年裡,他 每年都只拿到40元錢,省吃儉用也只能勉維持一段時間的生活。

「很心寒,沒想到400多塊錢到手就只剩下1/10。」小喜嘆著氣說

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

【明報專訊】特區政府提出撥款1億港元交四川省政府賑災,這1億元有多重要?本報翻查中國審計署的報告,發 現2008年四川汶川地震和2010年青海玉樹地震,收到政府及民間的捐款後,均出現捐款過剩的問題,數以 十億元計以上的捐款要由省政府找方法花掉。立法會會計界議員梁繼昌認為,特區政府應先看清楚內地政府有什麼 需要,才下捐款賑災的決定。

省政府要找方法用捐款

汶川大地震收到的捐款及物資近千億(人民幣,下同),據中國審計署在2010年1月6日發表的《汶川地震社 會捐贈款物審計結果》,全國包括港澳和台灣,共募集了797億元社會捐贈款物,但當中有269億元未使用, 當中未有明確支付計劃,留待重建規劃備用的款項多達150億元。特區政府在這次未計及援建費用,已捐出了3 億港元賑災款項。

青海玉樹大地震同樣出現捐款過剩問題,據中國審計署2011年3月18日發表的《玉樹地震災後恢復重建20 10年跟蹤審計結果》,發現青海省人民政府收到的社會捐贈資金為86億,當中有多達24.92億是沒有明確 項目用途,經審計署指正後,青海省政府「已將24.92億元資金明確到具體項目,正在徵求捐贈 者的意見」。

梁繼昌指出,民間對內地受災地區的捐款絡繹不絕,內地政府未必用得盡,而可能出現亂用錢的問題。他認為,與 其浪費1億港元,不如等四川省政府確定實際的項目用途,才以1億元支援重建之用。

明報記者

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!



This is a parliamentary debate regarding the issue. For Canto-capable only.
[video=youtube;-U9GnYt4hyc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U9GnYt4hyc&feature=player_embedded[/video]
 
Last edited:

ABC78

Junior Member
That's pretty cool actually. If they can put some spider legs on it, it would make the ultimate disaster rescue vehicle (OT, but would it still qualify as a vehicle without any wheels?) able to clank over rubble without needing the road to be cleared ahead of it in order to deploy.

Walker vehicles of all types.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


To build and supply a lunar base, astronauts will need heavy-duty space trucks for transporting gear. There’s just one problem: no roads. That’s why NASA engineers designed the rover they call ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer)—to handle any terrain, whether dusty, rocky, or crater-y.

The key is the rover’s six bendable spider legs and wheeled feet. On smooth surfaces, it rolls on those wheels; when it runs into an obstacle it can’t clear, it simply steps over it. ATHLETE can also split into a pair of robots that together pick up and haul specially designed shipping containers. (A lander would bring a container to the surface separately.)

So far, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have demonstrated that their $2 million half-size prototype—which consists of two semiautonomous, three-legged robots—can move cargo, walk on inclines, and use tools. The researchers say the actual, 26-foot-tall rover could be ready to start working in space by 2017.

1) The ATHLETE moon rover has 48 stereo cameras, which stream 3-D video from its limbs, frame, and wheels to human operators on Earth or the moon, allowing them to look for hazards and maneuver tools. ATHLETE will have more cameras than any previous rover. (Curiosity has 17.)

2) The rover can refill its hydrogen fuel cells at a solar-powered station that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen (for astronauts to breathe).

3) ATHLETE’s wheeled limbs let it walk, drive, or climb, depending on the environment. Each has seven motorized joints that bend and twist. ATHLETE controls each leg separately so that it can keep cargo level even while climbing uneven terrain.

4) Drills, scoops, and grippers collect rock and soil samples for analysis. One set of motors operates both the wheels and tools, which saves weight and makes the rover cheaper to launch into space.

5) Clamps on the wheels hold interchangeable tools.

6) A tool belt stores gear when not in use.

7) Airless tires can’t burst or go flat.
HOW IT HAULS

8) Drive: People in mission control (on Earth or on the moon) tell the ATHLETE rover to drive to a lander that has just touched down, carrying a cargo pallet. Incoming supplies must land far from the astronauts’ base to prevent jagged moondust from damaging equipment.

9) Split: ATHLETE divides into two identical, three-legged rovers, called Tri-ATHLETEs, by lifting motorized hooks that latch across its center.

10) Stretch: The rovers straighten their legs until they’re 27 feet tall—high enough to reach above the lander to the cargo pallet—and use their motorized hooks to grab pins on either side of the cargo.

11) Walk: If the rovers travel over rocky terrain too uneven for driving, they can walk while keeping the cargo level.

12) Deliver: The rovers crouch down until the pallet is on the ground and then release it.

[video=youtube;J5_s90eWTV0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5_s90eWTV0[/video]

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Here is the a Plustech Oy / John Deere hexapod logging machine prototype. While it may look like some kind of alien life form, it’s actually a prototype vehicle for moving felled trees.

The legs allow it to move through more unstable and varied terrain than wheeled or tracked vehicles, as it can just step right over any obstacles it encounters.

Just take a look at this thing moving! It’s unsettling, and not just because it was designed to aid in the clearcutting of forests! Sure, it might move better through the old growth with those legs, but I’m much more comfortable with wheels, thank you very much.

[video=youtube;CD2V8GFqk_Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CD2V8GFqk_Y[/video]
 
I don't think there are any motivations or intentions. Recently after the quake hit, these stories were all over everyone's mouths in Hong Kong regarding whether they should donate. Similar accusations were made regarding a few other large donation agencies as well, but China's Red Cross is the highlight and the most notable of them all. The reason is because China Red Cross isn't an NGO(non-GOVERNMENTAL org) unlike the other counterparts around the world, and by that, China Red Cross is actually relevant to the Chinese government or department if I recall.

As a result, many people in HK now are hesitant about donating or supporting the earthquake relief effort because the biggest concern was that much of the funds that was donated by HK in 2008 went missing or disappeared elsewhere without a trace or unable to be accounted for. Some reports even revealed that funds that were formerly provided by the donation agencies to the local governments to reconstruct public schools and houses ended up abused. There was this one public school that was built in the aftermath of the quake with the funds provided by donation agnecies that collected the money from HK. Years later some reporters went back to the site of the school only to find a mansion standing where that public school had been earlier. There's another case where a building that was built turned out to come out to only be used as a landfill. In addition to that, there are also many reports coming out that many in China area, especially some of the people at the scene, aren't even offering a basic helping hand to the refugees, which is also causing quite an uproar of why within China there are many who won't even offer to help their own people while others are. HK was the leading donor for the earthquake relief effort in 2008, and also ranked 2nd in Asia(19th in the world),(after the Philippines) in Most giving, while S. Korea is around 54, Japan 85, and China 141, so the findings is something to heed attention to. Finally, although I'd really think this time's efforts are much faster than 2008, I'm also hearing rather much negative reports as well at the same time.
Finally, this issue is actually a very realistic one to do with criticisms of NGO activisms. Many orgs, including World Vision, are reported to channel a very high proportion of their funds to "administrative fees", leaving not that much truly going to the the refugees. This could be seen from the senior management's annual salary, which goes up to 6 digits. Similar criticisms were also directed at the UNICEF as well. However the only difference between that one and this incident is that here the funds are suspected to have gone to the corrupted official's pockets, and with a significant amount not accounted for.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!



好心人每年都捐款400元 竟有90%善款不知去向 E-mail 此主題給朋友
[隱藏]
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


深圳一位好心人,為幫助外地貧困兒童,每年匯款400元,然而到孩子手上的卻只有40元,她在此期間給孩子 寄信時放在信封裡的錢也杳無蹤跡。而且直到多年後,雙方見面才知道事情的真相。此事經網友發布後,引起了廣 泛轉載。

多次寫信所附的錢也不見了

愛心捐款居然被克扣90%,真有此事還是有人在惡作劇?為了解事情真相,記者多方打聽聯系到了捐款人陳女士 的女兒小阮。她介紹,母親開始為江西貧困兒童小喜提供幫助是20年前的事了,家裡人也是10年後才知道。1 993年,媽媽在深圳南苑新村居住,其間陸續讓大女兒代筆給小喜寫信,每次都不忘在信封裡給小喜寄點零花錢 。

1999年,小喜初中畢業一年後讓在東莞打工的叔叔聯系陳女士,希望她能幫自己在深圳找份工作。見面後兩人 在無意的交談中驚訝地發現,整整6年,陳女士每年給小喜寄去400多元錢,到他手裡卻只有40元,每次讓大 女兒代筆寄過去的信小喜一封都沒有收到,直到小喜後來到當地部隊服役,才收到陳女士寄來的一封信和20元錢 。
記者隨後聯系現住在中山市的陳女士。提起此事,她更是萬分無奈。原來,當時一個慈善助學項目在深圳和江西兩 座城市之間舉辦了手牽手活動,長期在南苑新村居委會做義工的陳女士得知每年400多元就可以幫助一個孩子上 學,立即申請加入,希望幫助小喜完成學業。此後近10年裡,陳女士根據居委會提供的學校地址,每次定時將錢 匯給小喜所在學校。

「我做義工每月是80元補貼費,這些錢也是平時節省下來的。」陳女士表示,除此之外,每次給小喜的信件中都 會附帶幾十元現金給他。離開部隊後的小喜來到陳女士家的工廠工作,這時陳女士才發現自己這麼多年給小喜寄去 的錢都被「克扣」了。

作為被資助對象,小喜得知每年陳女士給他寄的是400多元錢時,整個人都呆了。他很難相信,整整6年裡,他 每年都只拿到40元錢,省吃儉用也只能勉維持一段時間的生活。

「很心寒,沒想到400多塊錢到手就只剩下1/10。」小喜嘆著氣說

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

【明報專訊】特區政府提出撥款1億港元交四川省政府賑災,這1億元有多重要?本報翻查中國審計署的報告,發 現2008年四川汶川地震和2010年青海玉樹地震,收到政府及民間的捐款後,均出現捐款過剩的問題,數以 十億元計以上的捐款要由省政府找方法花掉。立法會會計界議員梁繼昌認為,特區政府應先看清楚內地政府有什麼 需要,才下捐款賑災的決定。

省政府要找方法用捐款

汶川大地震收到的捐款及物資近千億(人民幣,下同),據中國審計署在2010年1月6日發表的《汶川地震社 會捐贈款物審計結果》,全國包括港澳和台灣,共募集了797億元社會捐贈款物,但當中有269億元未使用, 當中未有明確支付計劃,留待重建規劃備用的款項多達150億元。特區政府在這次未計及援建費用,已捐出了3 億港元賑災款項。

青海玉樹大地震同樣出現捐款過剩問題,據中國審計署2011年3月18日發表的《玉樹地震災後恢復重建20 10年跟蹤審計結果》,發現青海省人民政府收到的社會捐贈資金為86億,當中有多達24.92億是沒有明確 項目用途,經審計署指正後,青海省政府「已將24.92億元資金明確到具體項目,正在徵求捐贈 者的意見」。

梁繼昌指出,民間對內地受災地區的捐款絡繹不絕,內地政府未必用得盡,而可能出現亂用錢的問題。他認為,與 其浪費1億港元,不如等四川省政府確定實際的項目用途,才以1億元支援重建之用。

明報記者

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!



This is a parliamentary debate regarding the issue. For Canto-capable only.
[video=youtube;-U9GnYt4hyc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U9GnYt4hyc&feature=player_embedded[/video]

I do not know enough to refute your argument nor do I blindly believe that there was no corruption nor misappropriation of funds at some point or another by the Red Cross or local officials. What I can't understand is the timing of the article. The first first few days and weeks are most critical to stabilize the situation and avoid further lost of lives and suffering. No doubt any assistance at the earliest stages are most useful and less likely to be misappropriated. There is a time for accountability and criticism. NOW IS NOT THE TIME. I find the timing of the BBC article, right after the severity of the earthquake was being reported and assistance likely most needed, to be most distasteful.
 
Last edited:

escobar

Brigadier
[video=youtube;ZKzB6YuiXfI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKzB6YuiXfI#t=0s[/video]

[video=youtube;2rhhgDY8ROk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rhhgDY8ROk#t=0s[/video]
 

escobar

Brigadier
[video=youtube;9wVFPerbOmw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wVFPerbOmw#t=0s[/video]

[video=youtube;1t2dPet4khA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t2dPet4khA#t=0s[/video]
 
Top