(Clearwisdom.net)

According to a Xinhua News Agency, on August 2, millions of locusts suddenly raided Hohhot city, Inner Mongolia. Most areas of the city areas have been swarmed. The reporter saw locusts densely cover the entire courtyard in a community on South YinBing Road. It was difficult to find even a find a place to set foot in the yard. The inhabitants in the court used brooms to sweep away the locusts, easily and quickly filling up large plastic bags with the insects. In a restaurant next to the community, locusts crawl all over the place on the walls and ground. Waiters have to wear scarves in the hot weather to avoid the onslaught.

Xinhua News Agency reported on August 4 that locust disasters showed up in June in most areas of Xilingoule County of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Sources say that more than 70 million Mu [a Chinese unit of land measurement, equivalent to 0.165 acre] of pasture have become infested with locusts in Xilingoule County, 34 million Mu of which are severely affected.

It was reported that this locust disaster might not endanger Beijing since the disaster area in Inner Mongolia is several hundred kilometers away, and the locusts rampaging in the Xilingoule pasture are local locusts of modest migratory capacity and appetite, according to Associate Director Jin at Beijing Plant Protection station. She also said, in comparison with the Eastern Asia Locust (Locusta migratoria) which can travel dozens of miles in a day and devour everything in its destructive path, local locusts have considerably less of an impact. Flying locusts that threaten Beijing mostly come from Dagang, Jinhai of Tianjing and Baiyangding, Haixing, and other areas of Hebei province.

Yet, the Xinhua reporter revealed their uneasiness by relaying a message from the Beijing Plant Protection station and Forest Protection station: all pest forecast and monitoring systems are on high alert to watch the locusts' movements closely around Beijing. And one hundred thousand locust fighters are standing ready.

The Ancient Chinese used to look at large scale locust disasters as "punishment from above" against a corrupted and vicious government. Since 1999, many locust outbreaks have repeatedly occurred in many areas of China. From the message provided by Associate Director Jin at the Beijing Plant Protection station: "the Beijing-threatening locust (which can travel dozens of miles in a day and devour everything in its destructive path) mostly come from Dagang, Jinhai of Tianjing and Baiyangding, Haixing, and other areas of Hebei province", one can see that there is a deadly atmosphere around Beijing imposed by the locust. Does this prove something to the public? Very interesting.