[Clearwisdom editors' note: Throughout history, the theme that a nation's fate is closely tied to the virtue of its leaders and people has been prevalent in both Chinese and Western culture and lore. Many wise, virtuous rulers have led their nations to peace and prosperity, while conversely, moral decay in high places has led to the downfall of great empires. These articles are meant to serve as a reminder and wake-up call for those who are leading or participating in large-scale acts of violence and injustice. As Teacher Li Hongzhi said in Essentials for Further Advancement, "When people do not have virtue, natural calamities and man-made disasters will abound."]

[LatelineNews: 2002-7-14] BEIJING - Swarms of locusts have invaded the Chinese capital, littering busy walkways and prompting gourmets to reach for their woks, Chinese newspapers reported on Sunday.

The main daily in southern Guangdong province, where people notoriously cook and eat anything that moves, put the rare phenomenon on the front page.

"I've lived in Beijing for more than 20 years and I've never seen so many locusts," said professor Zhang Long, of the agriculture university.

Zhang told the Beijing Youth Daily the locust swarms must have been the result of recent hot weather and wind direction.

Temperatures in the capital have hit the high 30s, the heat and humidity pushing even the hardiest citizens indoors.

Several papers played down the freak incident, which saw children rushing to fill plastic bags with insects. Locusts posed no threat to society, they advised, and could be killed with normal insecticides.

[...]

None of the papers mentioned the threat of locust plagues in other parts of vast China which has prompted the government to pour 50 million yuan ($6 million) into killing the pests before they migrate to valuable crop land.

State media have quoted senior officials as saying that 2002 could be a "serious year" for locusts after years of drought in some areas and degradation of the environment.

State media said locusts had hit 29 million hectares (72 million acres) of wasteland in northern China in June but there was no apparent damage to farmland.áááá