June 15, 2007
Chinese Ministries Combat Cable Theft
According to China's Ministry of Information Industry, eight Chinese ministries will start a nationwide campaign against the epidemic of thieves intentionally destroying electrical and broadcast facilities. China Tech News reports.
"Showing that China's technology sector is still the Wild West, the campaign will also focus on encouraging operators to stop cutting each other's cables, which some have done for competitive reasons.
Jiang Yaoping, deputy minister of MII, said it is very urgent to protect the telecom and broadcasting facilities.
In the first quarter of this year, the problem was still on the rise and there were about 32,000 cases of destruction on China Telecom's equipment alone, which was double that of the same period last year. "
Cable theft has been reported in both Africa - where natives turn them into beautiful baskets for retail (picture above left), and surprisingly, in the US.
Related articles:
-- Verizon Tells Customers To Watch Out For Thieves - West Virginia has been subject to thefts of copper telephone cables and “vandalism to Verizon's telecommunications network” which have caused loss of service to users in the area.
-- African Telephone Wire Baskets - Some of the most striking pieces of contemporary African art you’ll find are the colorful Zulu imbenge baskets that are woven from “recycled” telephone wire. They’re featured in online stores and celebrated in art books.
-- China crash 'due to cable theft' - A train crash in north-east China on Sunday was reportedly caused by the theft of electrical cables. Correspondents say that, because of high global copper prices, the theft of power lines for their copper wire is now rampant in China.
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