SICHUAN QUAKE RECOVERY: CONTRASTING TWO SOUTHWEST CHINA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000011 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/CM BANGKOK ALSO FOR USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SOCI ECON PGOV CH SUBJECT: SICHUAN QUAKE RECOVERY: CONTRASTING TWO SOUTHWEST CHINA COMMUNITIES REF: FBS20080627234985 CHENGDU 00000011 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) This cable contains sensitive but unclassified information - not for distribution on the internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Eight months after the May Sichuan Earthquake, harder hit areas in Southwest China's Sichuan province face a long recovery process that may exceed the official target for a total recovery in three years. Zundao, a town about 60 miles north of Chengdu, will need to be completely rebuilt; a process that may take 10 years. Other villages are well on their way to recovery. A village outside of Anxian, roughly 30 miles north of Zundao, has relatively little damage despite its close proximity to some of the hardest hit areas. Here much of the needed reconstruction has already been completed and villagers appear to feel generally optimistic. End Summary. Potentially Long, Slow Recovery -------------- ¶3. (SBU) On a recent visit to Zundao, a town of about 21,000 people under Mianzhu City, Congenoff noticed that most of the buildings still showed significant earthquake damage. An NGO employee there, Wang Yaoyun, told us that about 90 percent of the town's buildings had been damaged or destroyed in the 12 May 2008 earthquake. Most of the retail shops had either cracked walls or were partially collapsed. Houses showed similar damage, and only a very few buildings seemed to have escaped unscathed. Wang pointed out a large liquor factory he said had not been damaged by the quake. One of the town's government buildings still stood, although the other had collapsed. Wang said both the Zundao mayor and Party Secretary died in the earthquake, but he did not say if they died in the collapsed government building. ¶4. (SBU) Rebuilding was underway, mostly by individual business owners or residents fixing their own houses and shops. Wang said that reconstruction in much of the town had not yet begun. He estimated it could take 8-10 years to rebuild the town. At least two large temporary housing communities are set up inside the town, the same kind of metal structures with a thin layer of Styrofoam insulation that are widely used in other earthquake affected areas. Many residents apparently have chosen to stay in their damaged homes rather than move into the temporary shelters. ¶5. (SBU) Zundao's school and hospital have been completely rebuilt by Vanke, one of China's largest real estate developers. Both buildings appeared to be well-built structures, although construction underway on stores and houses along the streets seemed less sturdy. Congenoff watched workers at one street-side shop build a brick pillar to shore up the second floor of the building that was sagging. Wang said that first-priority reconstruction projects included public facilities like the school, hospital, and the yet-to-be-built community center. Rebuilding the collapsed government office building was also a priority. Some of the government is currently operating out of temporary offices in the same type of prefabricated, one-story buildings that house many people displaced by the earthquake. ¶6. (SBU) Jiangsu Province, like other relatively prosperous provinces, was ordered by the State Council in June 2008 to spend at least one percent of its annual budget on earthquake relief (see ref). The State Council paired Jiangsu Province with Mianzhu City; Zundao township is subordinate to Mianzhu. Developers from Jiangsu province have partnered with Zundao to assist in the rebuilding. Congenoff saw housing facilities for workers from one Jiangsu company and a vehicle with Jiangsu license plates. The assistance from Jiangsu, however, is currently going to priority projects rather than individual homes and businesses, according to Wang. CHENGDU 00000011 002.2 OF 002 Village Showing Comparatively Little Damage -------------- ¶7. (SBU) A visit by Congen Management Officer to a village outside of Anxian, just south of one of the hardest hit areas, contrasted with what Congenoff saw in Zundao. Management Officer noticed earthquake related damage, but few buildings appeared to have significant structural damage. Buildings like the village community center that suffered significant damage had already been repaired. The village had some temporary shelters, similar to those seen in Zundao. ¶8. (SBU) An aid worker who has been working in the earthquake affected areas since May told Management Officer that residents in areas like Anxian were unexpectedly optimistic in their post-quake outlook. She believed that most villagers saw this as the latest episode in China's development tradition of growth, destruction, and rebuilding. She said that the only exception were the families that lost children in the quake. These families have great difficulty moving on after the quake and were still angry, according to the aid worker. During his visit and discussions with the aid worker, Management Officer was surprised to find villagers relatively well dressed (winter coats, hats, shoes) and in good spirits. Villagers waited patiently many hours to be provided relief supplies (blankets, long underwear, socks, and shoes) and did not exhibit any anxiety about their situation. ¶9. (SBU) Management Officer was told by the aid worker that relief supplies were provided to villagers with the assistance of the village leader (cunzhang),and that no higher officials had been informed. Villages receiving supplies from this particular relief effort appear to have been chosen based on information from personal relationships and the organizational ability of individual village leaders. BOUGHNER