China Stumbles Toward Readiness
For Year-2000 Computer Problem
April 20, 1999
Associated Press
BEIJING -- Bureaucratic infighting, inexperience and a lack of money are
hampering China's progress in preparing for the year-2000 computer
glitch, the government's top computer troubleshooter said Monday.
Banking, telecommunications, civil aviation and
15 other sectors "crucial to the national
economy and the people's daily life" have
largely completed modifying their systems to
purge them of the bug, said Zhang Qi of the Ministry of Information
Industry.
However, not all agencies are cooperating with each other, new millennium
problems are being uncovered as old ones are solved and there is a "huge
gap" in funds, Ms. Zhang said. She said foreign experts estimate China will
need as much as $600 billion to fix its millennium bug problems.
Ms. Zhang, who is coordinating government efforts to deal with the
computer glitch, spoke at a news conference called by the State Council,
or Cabinet, to assess China's readiness for the millennium and any
emergencies that might ensue.
Experts worry that computers, software and microchips that use only the
last two digits to mark the year will mistake 2000 for 1900 and
malfunction, causing vital systems to stop working.
Six weeks ago, a senior CIA official told the U.S. Congress that China
was slow in dealing with the problem and would likely experience
disruptions in telecommunications, power and banking.
Ms. Zhang said two-thirds of the national power network has been
modified and 60% of the telecommunications systems are ruled Y2K-safe.
The banking sector has made the most progress, having spent $605 million
to upgrade all hardware and software and finish all contingency planning.
China Telecom, the country's leading telecommunications operator, has
updated about 90% of its equipment and expects to overhaul the rest by
July 1 and focus on emergency plans during the second half of the year.
The State Council has ordered that the power, telecommunications and
water supply sectors give priority to correcting the computer bug, Ms.
Zhang said. "No failure should occur in these areas," she said.
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