China: President calls for enhanced disaster monitoring, early-warning capacity
In a speech, Chinese President Hu Jintao showed particular concern over disaster prevention and reduction and called for 'giving priority to the study and to forecasting' of natural hazard-related disasters.
President Hu made the proposals during a speech given at the joint inaugural ceremony of the 14th Congress of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ninth Congress of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Science on Monday.
Governments at all levels were urged by the to include the monitoring, forecasting and prevention of natural disasters as a critical part of their social and economic development plans.