Chinese leaders attend Lantern Festival party

BEIJING—Chinese leaders joined noted intellectuals in a party to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the Chinese lunar new year, Thursday night at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and other members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang, and Zhou Yongkang attended the gathering held by the CPC Central Committee. Some noted intellectuals from the art, science and technology, education, theory and publicity circles were invited to the party.
Li Changchun, who chaired the party, extended festival greetings and nice wishes to all Chinese intellectuals on behalf of the CPC Central Committee. He said the year 2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the country’s reform and opening-up drive, and the year Beijing hosts the Olympics. He called on intellectuals to make greater contributions to the development of the country.
He also said the low temperatures, icy rains and heavy snow in the southern part of China have brought huge difficulties to local people, and urged continuing to fight against the disaster and promote fast and sound development. Chinese have celebrated the Lantern Festival, the formal end to the lunar new year festivities, Thursday across the country with joys after the worst snow disaster in 50 years.
At the festival of family reunion, the villagers of the Dazhangkeng Village of Jingning She Autonomous County of eastern Zhejiang Province welcomed the first bright night in three weeks as power supply to the mountainous village resumed at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The cheerful villagers, dressed with the typical black and red festival costumes, lightened red lanterns, set off fireworks and made a campfire, dancing around with local power company technicians who came to repair the power transmission facilities.
“Thanks to their hard work and the caring of the government, we can have a bright Lantern Festival tonight,” said Zhong Yinglu, a villager who just gave birth her first child four days ago. As one of the worst-hit areas in the snow in Zhejiang, the village, with a population of more than 600, lost contact with the outside world since the late January with road closed with ice and power transmission towers collapsed.
“All of us had to depend on candles at night for lighting in the past three weeks with no power. Besides, it was so cold, and I had been worrying that my baby could catch a cold,” said Zhong. “I’m relieved now because we can use the electric heater.”
While millions of snow-hit area residents cheering for a bright and warm festival, a postponed wedding ceremony for Zhou Fenghua, a technician with the power supply bureau of Yangjiang City in Guangdong Province, and his bride, was held at a work site for repairing power transmission tower.—Xinhua