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| Beijing's neighbors help capital through tough time |
| CCTV.COM 2003-05-17 09:05:43 |
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Beijing is now bearing the brunt of the SARS epidemic but the city also has the support of many other provinces around the country. Other regions have been helping out the capital by bringing in food, medicine, equipment and even blood.
17 trucks laden with fresh vegetables will be transported to Beijing overnight from Shouguang city in Shandong Province. Trucks have been plying this route more and more since late April. Each day, from Shouguang, more than a thousand tons of vegetables are sent to Beijing, all carefully selected by the region's farmers.
"I was really moved when I saw the medical workers sacrificing their own lives and homes to save the patients. We farmers should pick the best food for them. We are obliged, just as in wartime, to give people on the frontline the best supplies," said a farmer of Shouguang City, Shandong Province.
To ensure stable food prices, many farmers are sacrificing their own revenue. Zhang Jinlian, a major whole seller in Shouguang, is one of those who is voluntarily giving discounts to Beijing customers. In 20 days, she's lost more 10,000 yuan in profit, but she says money should not be the only consideration at this time.
"Money is not that important. I don't care whether I earn less or nothing. The medical workers are risking their lives！ What can I do for them？ I can just give them the best thing at the lowest price," said Zhang Jinlian, Shouguang vegetable wholesaler.
But it's not only food coming into Beijing. Medicine, masks and disinfectant are also flowing in to meet the urgent demand. The timely and sufficient supply is the result of hard work. There are 16 pharmaceutical companies manufacturing SARS－related products and they've formed an alliance to supply everything at cost.
"We're making changes to our production. We've stopped producing other, more profitable medicines to devote our lines to SARS production. The production volume is thrice the usual to ensure sufficient supplies," He Duanti, chairman of Xinhua Pharmaceuticals, Shandong Province.
"We haven't had a day off since mid－April. We have only one concern: to produce as much as possible to ensure supplies," said a worker of Xinhua Pharmaceuticals.
Shandong companies have also fast－tracked production of building materials for the new, high－profile Xiaotangshan Hospital in suburban Beijing. The Heyou Group is just one that came up with the goods. The company filled a 1.3－million yuan order from the Xiaotangshan Hospital, but it had to do it within 20 days. That meant stopping other production lines and losing more than 200,000 US dollar in income.
"Although the company lost money, we still think what we did was right at the difficult time. We are a state－own business so we should contribute when the country is going through a tough time," said Tao Qingwu, deputy general manager of Shandong Heyou Group.
The SARS outbreak has cut Beijing's blood supplies, from 900 bags to 30. That's not enough to cover the city's demands for a day. Once again, help has come from other provinces including Shandong, Hunan and Jiangxi. Here, people are lining up to donate their blood in the Shandong provincial city of Jinan.
"I am a cab driver. I heard that Beijing is in great need of blood, so I gave my love to the people in Beijing in this way," said a blood donor from Jinan City, Shandong Province.
Railway authorities have dispatched specific trains to ensure the blood makes its way to Beijing as quickly as possible. All the transport procedures have been streamlined to help prevent SARS spreading even further.
The residents in Beijing say they are grateful for all the help provided by people in other cities and provinces. With these help, they are not only able to continue their life as usual, but also strengthened confidence to overcome the disease.
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Editor: Han Ling CCTV.com
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