CHINA DAILY TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2012 china 8 Anchor plays host to thank helpers Capital Actions of workers saved hundreds issues buses carrying nearly deceased in meters average depth migrant workers rushed of the rainwater 200 passengers the tragedy to the scene to rescue flooding the express- the trapped people from of people at fl ooded expressway become stranded way. The deepest was their dormitories in 3 3 46 meters. 150 Nangangwa fresh By HE DAN He Ming, his son, also took and ZHENG JINRAN part in the rescue at about 9 pm 4th Ring Road on July 21 and saved a 9-year- 3rd Ring Road warning Cui Yongyuan, a famous old boy at 3 am who was grasp- BEIJING anchorman from China Cen- ing an iron fence so the current tral Television, treated 154 wouldn’t sweep him away. Xidan migrant workers to dinner “I heard the boy saying ‘I of rain on Monday evening to show want my mom’ but aft er I took By JIN HAIXING respect for their heroic behav- him to a safe place, my work- 3rd Ring ior in rescuing about 200 mate immediately took him to and WANG XIAODONG people trapped in a torrential change his clothes, so I didn’t 4th Ring downpour. know whether he found his Th e Beijing meteorological All invited migrant workers, mother until yesterday,” he said. center issued a blue alert for who work for a water treatment About 60 people who were 5th Ring rainstorms on Monday night as Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao factory in the Fengtai district rescued visited the migrant Expressway the capital’s areas experienced of Beijing, raced against time workers on Sunday to express heavy rains. to transfer people stranded by their gratitude and He Ming Workers The average precipitation living in this fl oodwaters on an expressway said he saw the boy and his area rush to in eastern Fangshan district, when the heaviest rainfall in 61 mother there. help Daxing and Tongzhou dis- years lashed Beijing on July 21. Aft er a brief opening speech, tricts and central areas of Bei- More than 120 vehicles were Cui, the anchor, asked everyone jing were expected to reach Area of Zhou Kou Dian Lu submerged in a low-lying sec- at the dining hall for a minute accident 30 mm, said the alert, issued at tion of the Beijing-Hong Kong- of silence for people who died Beijing-Hong 7:35 pm. Kong-Macao Macao Expressway in Fengtai in the rainstorm. Expressway The center had previously that night. Li Chuannan, a 23-year-old Source: China Daily GUILLERMO MUNRO / CHINA DAILY forecast heavy rain in the capi- When several drivers from Southwest China’s Sich- tal from Monday night to Tues- escaped from their cars and uan province, had to restrain “The rainstorm removed Th e water was 6 meters at the day. rushed to a nearby factory for himself when he saw spicy fi sh, the misunderstanding and deepest point and the average The Ping’anli Subway Sta- help, Du Jinrong, leader of a an authentic Sichuan dish. the gap among people, and depth was 4 meters. tion was closed at 7:50 pm construction team, knocked “The doctor told me that I you (migrant workers) treated “It was too cold and dark to because of heavy rain, the Bei- on his workmates’ dorm doors. should stay away from spicy those stranded people as broth- see clearly, so we had to fi sh for jing Municipal Commission The factory staff gave out food before my wound recov- ers and sisters,” she said. the vehicles one by one,” Shi of Transport said on its micro clothes, food and bottled ered, that’s killing me,” the In addition to the migrant said, adding that they bumped blog. water to all people rescued and young man said. workers’ heroism, Beijing resi- against them occasionally. Th e commission asked resi- allowed them to rest in two Li’s right foot was scratched dents have also been moved After one hour, the other dents to be on guard. meeting rooms or in the dor- by iron when he rushed back by the bravery of two young two teammates asked to dive Due to bad weather, 23 mitory, Du said. and forth to save people fi refi ghters in the rescue opera- in turn, but they refused. flights were delayed and 26 “Some of the rescued wanted trapped in the water. tions following the heavy rain. “They are unfamiliar with canceled at Beijing Capital to give us money as a reward “I couldn’t believe it when Shi Bingbing and Wu Tian, the situation, and we don’t have International Airport as of 8 but we refused. We did not help I heard a few days ago that both 20, together with their enough time (to take the shift ),” pm on Monday . for money,” Du said. Cui Yongyuan was going to two teammates, were sent to he said, “We started diving at Th e capital has been hit by More than 180 people were treat us to a dinner,” Li said. “I CUI YIFEI / FOR CHINA DAILY the section of the Beijing-Hong 3 pm and were asked to fi nish several downpours over the stranded on the roofs of three often saw him on television, Vehicles that were submerged and damaged at the submerged Kong-Macao Expressway the search mission before night, past 10 days, particularly on buses in the inundated section but never expected that I could section of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway are stored where a 900-meter section was leaving us only four hours.” July 21, when the heaviest rain- of the expressway when the res- meet him in real life, I like him in a parking lot in the Fengtai district of Beijing waiting for their submerged on July 22. Th e two fi nished the mission fall in six decades lashed Bei- cue team, equipped with buoys, because he is humorous and owners to claim them. They were ordered to dive on schedule, reporting that 127 jing, causing 77 deaths. ropes and fl ashlights, reached eloquent.” into the water to help rescu- vehicles were inundated. Shi “As soon as the meteorologi- the site around 9 pm. Cui responded to an online discrimination against manual 18 tables. He paid 14,400 yuan ers get a whole picture of how got eczema because the water cal center issued the warning He Xuezhong, who has been campaign at Sohu Weibo, a workers. ($2,250) for the dinner, which many cars were inundated was not clean and Wu got a we broadcast it to residents,” working in Beijing for more popular micro-blogging site, to Cui handed a pennant to Li, was held in the Jingxi Nangong and if there were any people fever. said Zhai Ruisheng, Party than 17 years, joined the rescue take them out for dinner aft er who was chosen as the repre- Hotel, a restaurant in Feng- trapped. Shi said he didn’t tell his fam- chief of Beicheying village in work with his wife and 20-year- he read about the life-saving sentative of the migrant work- tai, 10 minutes drive from the “The situation there was ily aft er the mission though he Fangshan district, on Monday, old son. stories. ers participating in the rescue workers’ residence. very complicated, deep water lay in bed for days. “I don’t want which was worst hit by the del- “I did not worry about my Th e campaign, launched by work, with words saying “You Yang Tuan, a social policy and fl oating cars, you couldn’t to make them worry about me”. uge on July 21. son’s safety in that urgent three scholars in May, called for off ered a hand in an emergen- expert from the Chinese Acad- believe that you were at an “Village officials were also moment although I knew that urban residents to treat migrant cy, I drink a toast to show my emy of Social Sciences and expressway,” said Shi, a depu- Contact the writers at dispatched to inform every he can’t swim,” He said. “He can workers to dinner as a way to respect”. another initiator of the cam- ty commander from the fire [email protected] household and advise them to cope with the help of ropes and promote equality among diff er- Cui then toasted all the paign, attended the dinner squad in Xiwengzhuang town- and zhengjinran@chinadaily. go to higher places in case the buoys.” ent social groups and eliminate migrant workers who sat at party. ship. com.cn rainfall got worse.” After the deadly rainstorm on July 21, the local govern- ment of Beicheying erected dozens of tents on a school playground to house people Free dinners battle bias against migrants whose homes were destroyed in the storm. By HE DAN Migrant Workers to Dinner. against discrimination,” said China has more than 250 a bus asked two migrant work- Chen Li — deputy director “On Sunday, we brought [email protected] Th e campaign aims to organize Sun Liping, a professor of million migrant workers, who ers to get off because he said of the Shaanxi provincial public eight more tents for backup,” 10,000 dinner parties in 100 cit- sociology at Tsinghua Univer- left their hometowns in rural they smelled of sweat. Th e bus security department and a user said Gao Zhuang, a village offi - Socializing around food at ies nationwide in a year. sity and one of the people who areas to contribute to the coun- driver and other passengers of Sohu Weibo — caught the cial.