Highlights from the EO print, issue no. 353 – 354, February 4^th – 11^th 2008  

Chinese Enterprises Struggling Amidst Snowstorm 
Cover Story 
Apart from escalating costs, some Chinese enterprises have also been slapped with lawsuits for delayed delivery of consignments as China combats one of the worst snowstorms in decades. The prolonged snows between late January and early February cut power and closed roads all over southern China. As production lines shut down and shipments queued along afflicted highways, many businesses were unable to get shipments to their destinations on time. These companies are braving a tough time ahead, as they will have to resolve lawsuits in the aftermath of the snowstorm.
Original article: [Chinese]

Emergency Insurance Measures Initiated
Cover
The Chinese government has initiated a fast-track approval mechanism for insurance claims on losses resulted from the snowstorm that brought chaos in southern China. The directive to set up "green-lane" compensation, including on-the-spot payment for small claims under 3,000 yuan, was issued by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission on February 1^st. According to the commission, as of end of January, the estimated economic losses in 17 provinces stood at 32.67 billion yuan with 3.519 billion yuan worth of insurance compensation had been issued.
Original article: [Chinese]

Government Duties after the Storm
Editorial, cover 
The heavy snowstorm in southern China has taken the authorities and the public by surprise and resulted in ad-hoc emergency and relief responses as the disaster unfolded. The incident has highlighted the lack of China's natural disaster monitoring and warning systems; and has also amplified problems stemming from systemic defects, such as an energy sector strained by a lack of reasonable pricing-mechanisms; and the bottleneck of holiday transportation to shuttle a migrating workforce to and from home can trace its root to unbalanced development between rural and urban areas. The government, as the provider of public services and a crisis manager, has the duty to look further into disaster relief and rehabilitation after the storm blows over.
Original article: [Chinese]

Economic Consequences of Heavy Snowstorm
News, page 2 
In the aftermath of a snowstorm that damaged vast agricultural fields, a shortage of food products and resulting price rises are expected. On the other hand, as billions worth of infrastructure, housing and amenities were destroyed, the rehabilitation and rebuilding process is expected to boost investment and benefit certain sectors, such as energy, iron and steel, construction, engineering, railway and transportation. Market watchers believe the task to control inflation will become increasingly hard in the short run after the snowstorm.
Original article: [Chinese]