Published by: THE WORLD UYGHUR NETWORK NEWS July 23,1997

CND-Global, 7/21/97

[CND, 07/20/97] Vice Premier JIANG Chunyun warned on Thursday that "China may experience a year of disasters which are likely to occur simultaneously," AFP reports. According to the State Drought Prevention and Flood Control Office, a record 20 million hectares (50 million acres) of farmland have been hit by drought in the north, while 4.4 million hectares (11 million acres) have been flooded in the south. The autumn harvest accounts for 70 percent of China's annual grain yield, and ZHANG Xinmin, who heads a team from the bureau's rural

social economy department, expected that there would be a decrease in grain production.

(Ximin TANG, Guochen WAN)