英语四级阅读 Spring Festival rush for home puts China to harmony test
2009-01-17来源:和谐英语
Special armed police joined normal patrol officers and police dogs sniffed around luggage offices and platforms for prohibited goods.
At first sight, the security at Beijing Railway station, China's busiest transport center before the Lunar New Year which falls on Jan. 26, was roughly the same as last year.
But for many railway staff, this year's 40-day Spring Festival passenger rush is a "real test" of their capability to promote harmony as global financial crisis and the weakening domestic economy have aggravated the winter blues.
The Railway Minister predicted the first passenger peak to come on Jan. 20 to 24. Public grumbles over the hardship of obtaining a ticket, however, have reached a clamor on the Internet following the sudden death of a man in his 60s last Wednesday in a ticket office of the Chengzhan Railway Station, Huangzhou.
While police are investigating the man's identity and cause of death, people in Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai compiled on-line ticket purchase guidebooks which invited public praise, but once again put railway authorities in the hot seat.
There were compliments too. The two new temporary toilets set up in the Hangzhou Railway Station, for instance, were described as "the warmth in the severe cold".www.hxen.net
Chai Zeliang, deputy chief of the Beijing Bureau of the Railroad Police, says that whatever criticisms passengers might have, one principle for all railway staff was "to exercise restraint".
"The central government proposed the building of a harmonious society. The railways are just one element, but without harmony in the railways and the Spring Festival passenger rush, a harmonious society is out of the question," he says.
Still, by Chai's own admission, complaints, grumbles, even bickering happen almost every day. "The truth is that both passengers and railway staff were stressed as China's railway capacity falls far behind demand."
Almost 188 million people are expected to travel by train in the holiday season, up 8 percent or 13.73 million from last year. The daily rail traffic will grow by 340,000 people to a record average high of 4.7 million.
One hard fact for travelers banking on trains is the per capita railway mileage of only 6 cm, shorter than a cigarette. What's worse, many rail tracks must serve dual purposes as passenger and freight transport.
"When traffic is lighter, it's easy for people to travel light-hearted. At rush periods, many passengers have already grappled with road traffic jams before facing boisterous crowds and long hours waiting in railway stations. They have reason to beless tolerant," says Chai. He has been working with the Beijing bureau for 20 years.
THE UNPREDICTABLE
The loudest public complaint zeroed in on ticket shortages as freezing temperatures and biting winds compounded the resentment of standing in the open air for hours. The railway authority, however, deemed safety the top priority concerning harmony.
In a mobilization order issued in early January, China's Railroad Police Authority under the Railway Ministry urged its branches across the country to stay high alert for "the uNPRedictable".
The top priority, it said, was to ward off hidden risks from hazardous, combustible and explosive articles as their effects could be disastrous. The second concern was to prevent stampedes that might lead to mass injuries or deaths. Last was to beware of foul weather such as that which ravaged southern China early last year stranding huge numbers of people in railway stations and posing new risks.
"Safety is extraordinarily significant this year because the financial crisis has left many people jobless and with less cash. For a harmonious Spring Festival, it is essential to ensure all passengers, especially rural migrants and those on low incomes, can travel home safely with salaries and bonuses secure in their pockets," Chai says.www.hxen.net
The railway authority has required all luggage to be checked thoroughly. To ease passenger numbers at stations, they are reminding travelers not to arrive too early. Arriving two hours ahead of the departure time is enough, they say.
POLICE FORCE REALIGNMENT
One quiet change Xinhua learned from Railway police was that high-speed trains had taken the back seat this year as police resources were transferred to standard and temporary trains to safeguard rural migrants, students and the low paid.
Since the launch of high-speed rail services in 2006, the safety of trains labeled with CRH (China Railway High-speed) and running at 200 to 350 km per hour have been cause for concern. Although CRH trains share the same number of police officers with standard and temporary trains, resources have been purposely deployed in the latter.
Practice over the past three years showed that ordinary and temporary trains, known as "Puke" and "Linke", which charged less, had more stops and ran the slowest were more vulnerable to thefts and crimes.
When the economy was solid and brisk, rural migrants usually went home for a short break. But this time, with little hope of returning immediately, many migrants are actually moving their "homes" and traveling with more valuables. Their luggage includes buckets, electric fans, rice cookers, TVs and clothes hangers.
"In tough times, the realignment of police forces is necessary and can benefit the most vulnerable," Chai says. The Beijing Bureau alone has deployed 300 extra police to strengthen standard and temporary services.
As export-oriented companies on the eastern coast have gone broke or shut down temporarily, rural migrants have been returning home since early November.
At first sight, the security at Beijing Railway station, China's busiest transport center before the Lunar New Year which falls on Jan. 26, was roughly the same as last year.
But for many railway staff, this year's 40-day Spring Festival passenger rush is a "real test" of their capability to promote harmony as global financial crisis and the weakening domestic economy have aggravated the winter blues.
The Railway Minister predicted the first passenger peak to come on Jan. 20 to 24. Public grumbles over the hardship of obtaining a ticket, however, have reached a clamor on the Internet following the sudden death of a man in his 60s last Wednesday in a ticket office of the Chengzhan Railway Station, Huangzhou.
While police are investigating the man's identity and cause of death, people in Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai compiled on-line ticket purchase guidebooks which invited public praise, but once again put railway authorities in the hot seat.
There were compliments too. The two new temporary toilets set up in the Hangzhou Railway Station, for instance, were described as "the warmth in the severe cold".www.hxen.net
Chai Zeliang, deputy chief of the Beijing Bureau of the Railroad Police, says that whatever criticisms passengers might have, one principle for all railway staff was "to exercise restraint".
"The central government proposed the building of a harmonious society. The railways are just one element, but without harmony in the railways and the Spring Festival passenger rush, a harmonious society is out of the question," he says.
Still, by Chai's own admission, complaints, grumbles, even bickering happen almost every day. "The truth is that both passengers and railway staff were stressed as China's railway capacity falls far behind demand."
Almost 188 million people are expected to travel by train in the holiday season, up 8 percent or 13.73 million from last year. The daily rail traffic will grow by 340,000 people to a record average high of 4.7 million.
One hard fact for travelers banking on trains is the per capita railway mileage of only 6 cm, shorter than a cigarette. What's worse, many rail tracks must serve dual purposes as passenger and freight transport.
"When traffic is lighter, it's easy for people to travel light-hearted. At rush periods, many passengers have already grappled with road traffic jams before facing boisterous crowds and long hours waiting in railway stations. They have reason to beless tolerant," says Chai. He has been working with the Beijing bureau for 20 years.
THE UNPREDICTABLE
The loudest public complaint zeroed in on ticket shortages as freezing temperatures and biting winds compounded the resentment of standing in the open air for hours. The railway authority, however, deemed safety the top priority concerning harmony.
In a mobilization order issued in early January, China's Railroad Police Authority under the Railway Ministry urged its branches across the country to stay high alert for "the uNPRedictable".
The top priority, it said, was to ward off hidden risks from hazardous, combustible and explosive articles as their effects could be disastrous. The second concern was to prevent stampedes that might lead to mass injuries or deaths. Last was to beware of foul weather such as that which ravaged southern China early last year stranding huge numbers of people in railway stations and posing new risks.
"Safety is extraordinarily significant this year because the financial crisis has left many people jobless and with less cash. For a harmonious Spring Festival, it is essential to ensure all passengers, especially rural migrants and those on low incomes, can travel home safely with salaries and bonuses secure in their pockets," Chai says.www.hxen.net
The railway authority has required all luggage to be checked thoroughly. To ease passenger numbers at stations, they are reminding travelers not to arrive too early. Arriving two hours ahead of the departure time is enough, they say.
POLICE FORCE REALIGNMENT
One quiet change Xinhua learned from Railway police was that high-speed trains had taken the back seat this year as police resources were transferred to standard and temporary trains to safeguard rural migrants, students and the low paid.
Since the launch of high-speed rail services in 2006, the safety of trains labeled with CRH (China Railway High-speed) and running at 200 to 350 km per hour have been cause for concern. Although CRH trains share the same number of police officers with standard and temporary trains, resources have been purposely deployed in the latter.
Practice over the past three years showed that ordinary and temporary trains, known as "Puke" and "Linke", which charged less, had more stops and ran the slowest were more vulnerable to thefts and crimes.
When the economy was solid and brisk, rural migrants usually went home for a short break. But this time, with little hope of returning immediately, many migrants are actually moving their "homes" and traveling with more valuables. Their luggage includes buckets, electric fans, rice cookers, TVs and clothes hangers.
"In tough times, the realignment of police forces is necessary and can benefit the most vulnerable," Chai says. The Beijing Bureau alone has deployed 300 extra police to strengthen standard and temporary services.
As export-oriented companies on the eastern coast have gone broke or shut down temporarily, rural migrants have been returning home since early November.
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