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M. Continuo

WITNESS - Reporting in the dark in icy New Year China


    John Ruwitch is a correspondent for Reuters in south China. He has been studying or reporting on greater China since 1992, and has lived in Beijing, Taipei and Hong Kong, where he is currently based. In the following story he describes three days spent in Chenzhou, a city without power for nearly two weeks. It marked his first trip to Hunan, which is known for its piquant cuisine and as the birthplace of Mao Zedong. He hopes to visit again when the lights are back on.

    By John Ruwitch

    CHENZHOU, China (Reuters) - I stepped nervously from theover-crowded sleeper onto the frigid platform with no hotel, nocontacts and no plan other than to find out what it was like tobe in a city of 4 million in the midst of a 12-day blackout.

    The ride aboard the L44 train should have taken 4-1/2hours. Across the snowbound country it had taken four times aslong by the time we pulled into Chenzhou, only the second stopon a northbound slog to Beijing from the southern city ofGuangzhou.

    Freezing rain and snow in late January coated much ofsouth-central China with a thick layer of ice, contorting treebranches and crumpling some 1,000 high-tension power pylons.

    Chenzhou was at the heart of the freak winter disaster thathalted transport and stranded millions in the days before thebiggest holiday on the Chinese calendar, the Lunar Yew Year.

    The slush-lined streets were alive with activity, and Ilearned over the next few days that stoic resignation bolsteredby a dash of hope can go a long way under such conditions.

    I headed to a hotel that a motorcycle driver said had powerand was offered a cup of hot water at an empty dentist's officewith a diesel generator chugging away on the sidewalk outside.

    "This is an ice disaster," said Liu Weibin, jazz in thebackground. "There's nothing anybody could have done about it."

    The dentist's tap had water because it was on the firstfloor, he explained. Those higher up weren't so lucky becausethere hasn't been enough pressure in the city pipes. Most ofthem had to haul water upstairs by the bucket.

    Hours earlier, Premier Wen Jiabao had visited the city on awell-publicized tour of weather-hit areas -- a sign of howseriously the stability-obsessed ruling Communist Party takesany crisis with the potential to cause unrest.

    LIGHTS OUT

    People with money and connections crowded the few hotelswith generators, like the four-star place where I found a room.But even in these oases of light, life wasn't normal.

    At the entrance a hand-written sign told guests thatheaters, rice cookers, electric stoves and other householdappliances were not allowed because the power supply wasn'tstrong enough. Another said: Proper Dress Required.

    The elevator was off and I walked up 16 flights to my room.The heater was off, too, so I ordered another quilt. There wereno towels because they were not doing laundry to conserveenergy, but that didn't matter because there was no hot water.

    Outside, snow covered buildings were outlined in shades ofgrey, windows dark. A hospital nearby had power and lights. Ared neon sign from another shone miles away.

    By day, in a crowded outdoor market, people grumbled aboutprice hikes for everything from peppercorns to dog meat.

    Rumours circulated of deaths in crushes at grocery stores.I was told a food stall at the train station had been looted.Petrol was almost impossible to get.

    I spent an afternoon with a prominent Chenzhou residentlooking for fuel. Two stations we passed had dozens of carsqueuing. A third was closed. Through connections, he finallysecured a 25 kg (25 litters or 6.6 gallons) jug full. "I had tofight for it!" said the middle-aged man.

    The city government sent a text message to local mobilephones urging people not to drive.

    As I shared tea, rice cakes and sips of white lightningwith a family in an old section of town where their ancestorsput down roots some 300 years ago, the matriarch eagerly readold newspapers I'd brought, her first news in days.

    Ahead of the New Year, which begins on Thursday, I spent anevening huddled near a coal stove talking with four bitterex-employees of failed state-run enterprises.

    One, a maker of beancurd, cursed the heavens for the foulweather and aimed a barrage of abuse at the Communist Party.

    "The problem is that the government is too corrupt. Theydon't think about these things happening. They weren't preparedand they don't have the ability to solve a problem as big asthis," he said.

    When the candle on the table burned out, I turned on myheadlamp and we continued talking for a while. I wished them aHappy New Year and left them talking in the dark.

    (Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Sean Maguire)

    (To read more Reuters Witness stories click here:http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/reutersWitnesses)