May
21
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Chinese regulators have warned that relief efforts for the Sichuan earthquake must be transparent, and say any corruption will be punished.
The Communist Party’s anti-corruption commission said any action that hampered progress or wasted supplies would be swiftly dealt with.
Officials are working to get tents and supplies to the five million people made homeless by the 12 May earthquake.
The death toll currently stands at 40,075, with another 32,361 missing.
Almost 250,000 people have been injured.
Rescuers now hold out little hope of finding any more survivors.
On Tuesday, two people were pulled alive from collapsed buildings but on Wednesday there were no fresh reports of rescues.
‘Entirely dependent’
Both domestic and international aid has been flowing into the earthquake zone, with supply planes landing from countries including the US, Russia and Singapore.
But China says more tents are desperately needed to provide temporary shelter for families.
QUAKE STATISTICS
Up to Tuesday 20 May:
40,075 dead
247,645 injured
145 confirmed aftershocks above level 4, 23 above level 5, biggest 6.1
34,000 medical staff in quake zone
Nearly 280,000 tents, 480,000 quilts and 1.7 million jackets sent
6bn Chinese yuan ($860m, £440m) received in donations, from China and abroad
Drinking water for 7m people restored
Source: Chinese government
See a detailed map of quake zone
Sichuan tourist trail in ruins
Town mourns as search goes on
Bulldozers have been levelling ground so that more camps can be set up, reporters at the scene said.
In one tent city in Mianzhu, a 52-year-old man told the French news agency AFP that he had nothing.
“We don’t know where we’re going to find money to rebuild our village,” Ma Jingsuan said. “We’re entirely dependent on the government.”
On Tuesday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged to send 250,000 temporary housing units to the region by the end of June, and one million within three months.
In a circular, the Communist Party’s graft watchdog told local agencies to deal “swiftly and severely” with any official corruption linked to relief work, Xinhua news agency reported.
The source, destination and quantity of relief supplies should be made public, it said, and police should crack down on any fraudulent collection of donations for earthquake victims.
There have already been reports of scam text messages calling for donations to help survivors.
In the earthquake zone, many residents whose homes are still standing have been sleeping outside because of continued fear of aftershocks.
Rain has also been falling, compounding their misery. On Tuesday, Mr Wen ordered patrols to constantly monitor all dams as the bad weather continued.
Thousands of residents have also been evacuated from an area in Qingchuan county where large cracks have appeared in the top of a mountain, Xinhua said.
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