UN Secretary-General(SG) Ban Ki-moon: Thank you, my deepest condolences and sympathy to the people of China. And I commend and appreciate your brave leadership in overcoming this tragedy. The United Nations fully supports your efforts at this time of national crisis. I’m quite confident that under your leadership and President Hu Jintao your great people will overcome this crisis.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabo: I would like to thank you Mr. Secretary-General, and also through you to say thank you to the United Nations. In the wake of the Wenchuan quake the United Nations has been giving tremendous assistance and support to China and has commended what we have been doing here, and I would like to thank you and the organization.

I think what the United Nations and you Mr. Secretary-General have been doing is actually a kind of great encouragement to the people in the effected areas and also tremendous support given to the Chinese Government and people.

This time you have overcome the jet lag and vast distances and flown in person to the affected area. I would like to welcome you.

SG: Mr. Prime Minister I can’t find any suitable words to express how I feel, my heart is filled with great sadness on this tragedy. My fullest sympathies and condolences for all those people who lost their lives and I am also saddened particularly by all this tragic loss of many children who were killed while studying in their schools and I hope that under your leadership they will able to overcome this tragedy. It was inspiring and impressive that under your leadership your people have shown great strength and courage and resilience to overcome this. The United Nations and the whole international community stands behind you.

PM: Mr. Secretary-General, where you and I stand now, is the epicenter region hit by the earth quake in Wenchuan county. Over 13,000 lives were lost in the epicenter of this earthquake. In Sichuan Province and in other areas where the shockwave also found its way, over 60,000 lives were lost. Thirty thousand are still missing. More than 300,000 people are now hospitalized. So given the intensity, the immense devastation and also the areas affected, this is a serious and massive earthquake seldom seen in history. It is a tragedy not only for China and the Chinese people but also for humanity.

SG: You have my full support, gull sympathy. I hope you will overcome this as soon as possible and you have gained the full trust and confidence by demonstrating your leadership in overcoming this tragedy.

PM: In the past couple of weeks we have focused our efforts on the search and rescue endeavors and we have altogether saved about 60,000 people. Now our priority is to resettle the affected people. We have three major challenges. Number one, tents so that we can provide proper shelter for the affected people. Number two, epidemic prevention and control. We need to ensure that no major epidemic will breakout in the wake of the disaster. Number three, we need to do everything possible to prevent secondary disasters, because in the wake of the earthquake there has been many landslides and mudslides forming about 33 barrier or dammed lakes, the biggest dammed lake has a water storage capacity of about one hundred million cubic meters.

It is fair to say that our task in the future will be even more challenging and difficult…. (becomes completely inaudible, perhaps speaker is talking off mic)

We have mobilized all resources available throughout this country. For example we are now producing thirty thousand tents a day in this country and in three months time we are going to make one million makeshift houses.

At the same time we are now making efforts to make plans for the reconstruction effort.
This place used to be very beautiful indeed, and the nature reserve, especially for the protection of pandas is nearby. We need to make scientific plans for the future reconstruction of this place so that in the future we are going to have an even better ecological environment and conditions for sustainable development.

SG: I am quite confident that under your leadership and that of President Hu Jintao you have shown, demonstrated extraordinary leadership in overcoming this crisis. That has gained the full trust and confidence from the international community. That has been very much inspiring how the national government in close cooperation with the international community can overcome the natural disaster. Natural disasters can come at anytime, we must work together to prevent further occurrence of natural disasters.  The United Nations is very much committed to working with all the Member States.

I wish you all the best and keep recovering and rehabilitation, reconstruction. For the Chinese people, my fullest sympathy to all those people who have been victims and I hope you keep recovering for those people wounded.

PM: And you will see, the pouring in of large numbers of POA soldiers and officers and all kinds of rescue teams and at the same time you are also going to see for yourself that the people living in the affected areas or those still mourning their loved ones, have already begun their efforts to rebuild their homes.

That is why I want to tell also reporters from the news media that in three months time, if you come again you will see that the resettlement of the people affected will be done in an orderly manner and in three years time, if you come again you will see a completely new region.

SG: An out pouring of help and contributions by all your people, soldiers and business men, and civilians is the strength of China. The whole United Nations system as well as the broader international community stand behind you. We will do whatever as Secretary-General of the United Nations to mobilize the necessary support and assistance and I wish you all the best. Thank you very much, Xie-xie (thank you in Mandarin).
PM: And I would like to thank you, and say a big thank you to the United Nations and to the international community and to you Mr. Secretary-General. I know you have a very tight schedule so probably we can answer one question each.

News Asia: What do you think of China’s assessment so far and what are some of the pressing issues that need to be addressed right now.

SG: The Chinese Government during the early stages of this natural disaster made a strenuous effort and demonstrated extraordinary leadership or course in coordination with the United Nations and the international community and your people to overcome this natural disaster. Now that this rescue operation is progressing I sincerely hope that with the United Nations you will have a correct assessment of the damages and how we can best organize the rehabilitation and reconstruction of these damages. That will be most important.

I am here to demonstrate my solidarity to the people and Government of China at this time of crisis. This is a natural disaster, this can be overcome if we cooperate and we work hard. You have been working hard and you have been demonstrating your leadership extraordinarily. The whole world and the United Nations stands behind you and supports you. I am here to demonstrate such support to you.

Reuters Television: What will the United Nations do next to try and help in this situation and can you compare it to the previous country which you just visited.

SG: The United Nations at the early stage has contributed from the central emergency response fund $8 million and dispatched rescue expert officers to the Chinese people. Now that the relief and rescue operations are moving, in parallel with that we need to assess the correct damages and try to organize with the Chinese Government with the international community how we can best mobilize again to help first assess the situation then rehabilitate and reconstruction of this damage.

I am quite confident that the Chinese Government’s capacity and the strong will and determination and the efforts of the Chinese people together with the United Nations, we can overcome this problem.

Now I am just coming from my visit to Myanmar. Again more than 130,000 people either have been killed or are missing. It was again a very humbling, very tragic natural disaster. I have discussed this matter with the Myanmar Government officials and they have assured that they will allow in all international aid workers. The United Nations and the whole international community had outpouring their support and assistance and they have assured that these aid workers will be able to freely reach the people and the United Nations will continue to mobilize the necessary resources.

Tomorrow we are going to have a pledging conference in Myanmar to help mobilize the necessary resources in parallel with the rescue operations, to talk about the rehabilitation again and reconstruction.

Chinese official: The last question for the Premier of China.

APT: Today you are meeting the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the site of the earthquake and I would like to know what kind of advise or information you have to share with your friends in Myanmar because you are meeting the Secretary-General.

PM: I think the Myanmar issue and the disaster, Mr. Secretary-General has already made it very clear and what I can tell you here is that as far as China is concerned we have already provided material assistance to Myanmar, worth 30 million RMB and tomorrow the Chinese Foreign Minister will go to Myanmar to attend the International Pledging Conference where we are going to make a further commitment to provide $10 million worth of aid.

PM: Before we leave you I would still like to make a few remarks, ladies and gentlemen and our friends from the news media. Where you stand now belongs to the Wenchuan County. It is the epicenter of this earthquake. In this Wenchuan County 30,000 lives were lost.

Throughout the affected areas over 60,000 lives were lost. This being said, you can now see for yourself that my fellow country men already get on their feet and from mourning and the tremendous grief they have suffered.

It was the night of yesterday the Chinese Government has decided to put in place a leading organ for the rehabilitation and reconstruction work. We have also established an expert panel so that on the basis of full deliberation, assessment and discussion we are going to relocate and remap the city, township and house arrangements in this place.

I sincerely hope that all of us, particularly those of us from the news media will remember the earthquake in Wenchuan will remember those who lost their lives in the earthquake and also remember the heroic deeds and endeavors made by the people of this region and throughout this county. I sincerely hope that you will take down the story as it is.

In this way we are going to pay proper tribute to those who lost their lives and remember the loss of their loved ones and we can also say thank you in a proper way to people all over the country and all over the world. Thank you.

Please forgive me and the Secretary-General of the United Nations for leaving you now because we still have much to do.