Eternal Kindness: CCB’s Frontline Disaster Relief Efforts

In the aftermath of the surprise monstrous earthquake in Sichuan, CCB-ites have remained connected physically and mentally to the disaster victims, conveying their sincere sentiments through ordinary actions and plain kindness.

A RMB3 Million Foreign Exchange Purchase Order

Shortly after the earthquake in the afternoon of May 12th, there were confusions in the streets: everywhere people gathered in groups, with fear and daze written on their faces.

But there was only one thing in the mind of Jiang Yi, account manager of the business department in CCB Guanyinqiao sub-branch in Chongqing, Sichuan: that for 365 days a year, the sub-branch has to provide courier order collection service for one of its most important clients, Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Corporation (CFMA).  With landlines rendered unserviceable by the earthquake, Jiang Yi, mindful that “nothing is trivial in customer service”, set off to CFMA herself after seeking permission from her superior.

At around six in the afternoon, Jiang Yi phoned back to her office and reported that there was an order for foreign exchange purchase amounting to more than RMB3 million which had to be processed within the same day.  On receiving the report, various departments in Guanyinqiao sub-branch at once sprang into action so as not to cause any delay in the use of funds by the client.  Liang Hongjun, deputy manager of the finance and accounting department, immediately contacted the business management department of their branch, which, on learning the situation, agreed to the initiation of a green channel and the temporarily delegation of its authority, permitting updating of related procedures to be carried out the next day.  Tang Bin, deputy manager of the business department then immediately contacted all sub-branch accounting personnel and asked them to return to the office to process account procedures.

Time ticked by and it was turning dark gradually.  If all prescribed accounting procedures were to be followed, there would certainly be no guarantee that the client’s fund could be used in time for purchasing foreign exchange within that day.  What should they do?  After much discussion, it was decided that, as long as risks were under control, they would do their utmost to reduce the processing time.  Finally, with the cooperation of the relevant departments in their branch, the foreign exchange was remitted out.  It was already 18.48h, and there were few pedestrians in the streets.  It was only then that all personnel involved breathed a sign of relief, their faces brimming with smiles, a rare occasion since the earthquake took place.  So they had succeeded in focussing on the needs of their customers.

Unfazed Party Members & Cadres

In the afternoon of May 12th, the 80 or so employees on counter-duties in the seven business outlets of the Gaoxinqu sub-branch in Chongqing were going about their business as usual—receiving customers, handling financial management queries, processing deposits and withdrawals, etc.  At around 14.00h, inside the business lobby of the CCB sub-branch on the first floor of Weilai Mansion at Shiqiaopukeyuanyilu, Chongqing, more than 40 customers were conducting their banking affairs and none of them was the wiser about the imminent peril.

At 14.28h, from top management to the general staff, everyone working in the general office of the CCB sub-branch on the second floor of Weilai International Mansion experienced an unprecedented tremor at the same time.  Xie Jing, the head of the risk control department, was the first to shout, “Danger!  Earthquake!”  While most of the general staff responded to the alarm, a few of them persisted in occupying themselves in work.  At that juncture, sub-branch president Teng Hua, who had more than 10 years of sub-branch management experience and who is now in his 50s, was all cool and untroubled.  He immediately pacified administration manager Xiong Qingxiao, who was already out in the hallway, and asked her to help evacuate the customers as soon as possible and ask all colleagues to go outside as well.

In less than one minute, the score of general staff had gone downstairs, while all the tellers had their cash boxes and corporate seals under lock and fled from the counters to the outside of the building.  By the time Mr. Teng came down as the last person from the second floor to the first floor, the whole business lobby was all but vacated of its customers.  But an elderly man in his 60s was unable to cope with the sudden tremor; he had lost his bearings and was staggering and stumbling.  Seeing that, Mr. Teng quickly went up to comfort him, saying, “Now no hurry, Sir.  Watch your steps", then proceeded to help him out of the building quickly.

By 14.30h or so, all telephones were dead.  Amid the forest of high-rises in Shiqiaopu District, all sorts of people were running onto the streets.  Before long, Keyuanyilu was crowded up and fast evacuation became impossible.  Still, the management of the sub-branch asked its staff to look for open spaces as best they could and watch out.

A patrol team was then organised and sent by the sub-branch to make a situation assessment of all its subordinate business outlets.  After checking out all seven business outlets, the patrol team was able to report that, when the earthquake occurred, all the outlets had made the same response: evacuate all customers and staff to ensure the safety of lives and property.  After the earthquake, no person was injured and no money was lost.  It was not until around 18.30h that the management who had returned to the sub-branch was able to heave a sigh of relief.

Sticking to One’s Calling in Disaster Relief

Li Anbang is an ordinary employee working in the Suizhou South Road savings bank under CCB Suining branch in Sichuan.  At around two-thirty in the afternoon of May 12th, while handling some business for a customer, he felt a spell of violent and continual wobbling.  The furniture, the windows and the doors were all shaking, and it seemed that the whole savings bank would collapse any time.  Though very frightened himself, he immediately asked all the people in the bank to leave the building in no time.  Just when everyone was rushing out of the door in panic, he spotted a granny moving about with difficulties with a walking stick.  At once he rushed towards her and, while giving her words of consolation, helped her hasted towards the open area outside.

On the next day of the great earthquake, Comrade Li volunteered to go to the frontline of the disaster zone to help.  In addition, he started urging everyone around him to go with him to the donation station of Sichuan Suining Charity Federation to make donations of money and materials.  He also volunteered to work in the Charity Federation by utilising his forte to help count donated cash as well as to help moving relief materials about.  There he had worked for 36 hours non-stop.

“By choosing to work in CCB, I have in fact chosen my career.  I have no regret and no complaint in devoting myself wholeheartedly in disaster relief work,” he said.

An Unusual Military Salute

On May 19th in Wenmiao Village, Bikou Town, a troop of earthquake rescue soldiers lined up in attention and shouted “Sa—lute!”, “We would like to express our most sincere gratitude to our comrades from CCB who are providing whole-hearted supports to the armed forces’ disaster combat and rescue efforts.  You are the first team arriving at the disaster zone offering us consolation.”

Back to May 16th, CCB Gansu branch, on learning that the backup force of a locally garrisoned troop was about to set off to reinforce rescue efforts in Sichuan, immediately decided to assign someone to shop for goodwill gifts and go to the disaster zone along with the troop.  The best person for the job was the account manager responsible for the account of the troop—Li Hongwei of CCB Maiji sub-branch.  Even though Mr. Li knew that the rescue point where the troop would be sent was Bikou, a town bordering on Qingchuan County in Sichuan where there were incessant aftershocks and where dangers were abound, he accepted the assignment without any hesitation.

In that evening, because of the earthquake, all the large shops had closed early.  So, starting from 10 in the evening, Mr. Li had resorted to knocking the doors of the smaller shops and did not finish buying all the gifts he needed until one o’clock that night.  By that time, Li Qi, a driver at CCB Maiji sub-branch had received order to take off with Li Hongwei.  .  On receiving the order by telephone, though he was the father of a six-month old baby, he simply said, “No problem, I’ll drive.”

The two of them took off punctually at seven in the morning of May 17th.  It was a rough journey.  After the earthquake, huge rocks from landslides and cars severely deformed by these rocks were strewn about on the roads.  After jolting and bumping in the rain for more than 10 hours, they spent the night in Wudu.  At dawn on the 18th, they set off again towards their destination—Wenmiao Village in Bikou Town, Wen County.  As the crow flies, Bikou was only 10 km or so away from Qingchuan, which was one of the worst hit places in Sichuan.  But, as a result of the aftershocks, much of the road had collapsed, so it took them more than 10 hours to travel a distance of 200 km.

In the morning of the 19th, the gifts eventually reached the rescue troops.  And the soldiers filed up and presented a solemn salute to the travel-worn pair.

There is Something called Duty

Because of their job duties, Guo Ming, the head of the institution department of CCB Gansu branch and her husband have to stick to their posts.  They have a teenager at home who would soon have to sit for the university entrance examination.  When someone asks her with concerned, “Is there anyone looking after your child?” she would just shake her head without replying and immerse in her work again.  After the ordeal of experiencing the earthquake, her colleagues in the institution department were still a bit unsettled.  But when she told them that “It is the time for us to capitalise on our strengths and make ourselves useful.  So we should contribute whatever we can.  The more perilous the situation, the more we should unite together and stay strong.  For the sake of the earthquake victims, we should do our best and carry out our duties by ensuring the timely collection and payment of disaster relief funds.”  With these simple words, she had been able to urge her subordinates into fully committing themselves into their work.

At ten in the morning of May 14th, the logistic department of the Longnan detachment of the armed police was in urgent need of RMB50,000 in cash for procuring disaster relief materials.  At a time when corporate business had not returned to normal, the case was handled with the coordination of the institution department and the active concerted response of the business office.  Without violating stipulations of the settlement system, they managed to process all the related procedures and advanced RMB50,000 to the customer in the shortest time possible, thereby meeting the disaster relief requirements of the logistic department of the Longnan detachment of the armed police.  After receiving the sum of money, the customer was moved.  The comrades from the armed police detachment remarked that CCB’s efficient service had exceeded their expectation and that they were really “treating customers' urgent need as their urgent task and putting themselves in the position of their customers”.

CCB Cheng County sub-branch was also situated in an area seriously affected by this earthquake.  Li Junfeng, the person-in-charge of the sub-branch, lives in Wudu, also a heavily affected area.  He lives with his elderly parents and a young kid.  When the earthquake took place, he was in a meeting in Wudu.  After the earthquake, he hurried back to Cheng County to organise relief efforts.  On learning that financial policy relief funds would be reaching the area in short successions, he immediately sought out his colleagues responsible for institution business and together they spent the evening visiting the person-in-charge of the funds.  In the morning of May 14th, a special account for relief funds was secured for his sub-branch and, on the same day, RMB500,000 in funds was deposited into the account.  On the next day, he also succeeded in securing for his sub-branch a special account for donation funds and RMB1.2 million was booked into this account on the same day.  The institution business staff also took the initiative to contact the People’s Bank of China in order to establish an express channel for the special relief fund accounts.  This way, priority would be given to the handling, cash withdrawal and booking of relief funds and timely notification of fund movements to finance officials.  This way, timely withdrawal of disaster relief funds and subsequent distribution of the funds to the hands of the quake victims were ensured.

Xihe County also suffered heavily in the earthquake.  Feng Xiaocheng, president of CCB Xihe sub-branch has his home in another seriously affected area, Hui County.  After the earthquake, he also left his home to take care of the general situation.  In the first opportunity, he and his institution business colleagues managed to secure for Xihe County sub-branch the three special donation accounts for donations respectively handled by the Department of Civil Affairs, the Red Cross office and the Department of Finance.  As at May 27th, the combined balance of the three special accounts had reached RMB126.23 million.  By adopting such measures as the assignment of designated disaster relief donation counters, scheduled door-to-door collection of funds, extension of business hours and the exemption of handling fees, etc, an express channel for disaster relief was established.  Such exceptional services had effectively provided support the relief efforts of the local government and had won widespread acclaim from the public.

Earnestly Joining the Ranks of Volunteers

On May 20th, Sun Yongji of CCB Zhongshan sub-branch in Shenyang, Liaoning Province learnt from Liaoning Radio Station there was an emergency appeal for volunteers: a batch of tents for the disaster zone in a warehouse in Huanghai Road, Yuhong District, had to be delivered to Taoxian Airport in the same evening.  In view of the tight schedule, there was a need for extra hands for loading the goods and making the delivery.  Hence kind-hearted volunteers were needed to do something for disaster victims.

On hearing the appeal, Comrade Sun decided then and there to join the ranks of volunteers.  He rushed immediately to the command post of the Red Cross Society of Liaoning Province.  When he arrived, he was awed by the scene: the place was already teeming with people—from elders in their 70s to teenage youths, from white-collar salary people of enterprises to taxi drivers—everyone was coming at the same time.  Those who didn’t have vehicles became porters willingly; those with vehicles started transferring the porters to the warehouse for free.

For umpteen numbers of time, Mr. Sun and these kind-hearted people travelled back and forth between Heping district and Yuhong district, transferring people who were responsible for loading the tents and also joining the ranks of the loaders himself.  This way, they worked until ten in the evening, when all the tents had been transferred to Taoxian Airport in Shenyang, ensuring that this batch of relief material could reach its destination in time.