Janurary 9, 2025

The 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Dingri county, Xigaze, Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, is tugging at the hearts of all Chinese people and garnered widespread attention from the international community. International figures, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, have extended their condolences to China. At present, the rescue work has shifted to the resettlement of victims and post-disaster reconstruction. They are still being carried out in a tense yet orderly manner, with help from both domestic and international social forces continuously flowing into the disaster area, offering a humanitarian glimpse of compassion in the face of such an unfortunate disaster.

This earthquake has attracted significant international attention, not only due to humanitarian reasons but also because it occurred in Xizang - a multi-ethnic region often targeted by some in the West with so-called human rights issues. Observing the rescue and reconstruction efforts in the wake of this earthquake will provide valuable insights into what has happened in Xizang over the years and the actual human rights situation there. Dingri county, located at the foot of Mount Qomolangma, commonly known in the West as Mount Everest, "roof of the world," has an average elevation of about 5,000 meters. A series of factors, including the harsh winter, high altitude, and remote location, make rescue operations particularly challenging. However, just 10 minutes after the earthquake struck, rescue helicopters were already in the sky. Within less than half an hour, teams had begun to clear debris in the earthquake's epicenter. Personnel, including emergency rescuers, firefighters, forest fire, police and military officers, arrived in a couple of hours. Within less than a day, local networks, roads, and power supplies were gradually restored, and most affected residents were sheltered in warm tents or prefab houses, with hot three meals a day.

Anyone without prejudice toward Xizang can easily draw several conclusions from this. First, the fast and orderly rescue efforts demonstrate that Xizang's level of emergency response mechanism construction has significantly improved, which reflects the rapid progress in Xizang's infrastructure. 

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https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202501/1326546.shtml