The government of Jiangxi, one of the Chinese provinces
devastated by heavy snow and freezing rain over the past month, has
bought accident insurance for all soldiers taking part in the
disaster relief work, according to military sources.
The premiums were paid by provincial finance department,
according to the sources.
The Nanjing Military Area Command of the Chinese People's
Liberation Army (PLA) deployed 12,000 officers and soldiers to
seven Jiangxi cities including Ganzhou, Ji'an, Jiujiang, Shangrao,
Wuzhou, Yichun and Pingxiang.
The PLA forces were mainly engaged in repairing power facilities
damaged by the lingering bad weather.
Since mid-January, there have been reports of power company
workers being either injured or killed when trying to repair
damaged electrical towers and cables.
Jiangxi has attached great importance to logistic services for
the troops, and civilians have been sent to assist the military
rescuers.
It was the first report of a local government in China buying
insurance premiums for servicemen. There was no detailed figures
about the policies.
In 1998, the PLA issued a statute on insurance for service
people killed or injured in peacetime work and military action, in
addition to special subsidies for them. In the past, only injured
servicemen or families of military martyrs received the special
subsidies.
According to the statute, payment of the insurance is varied for
servicemen of different ranks in accordance with their salaries.
The PLA also buys medical insurance for ex-servicemen.
(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2008)