The Chinese government has given top priority to reconstructing transportation infrastructure in a new directive on the areas damaged in the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake.

Cao Kangtai, director of the State Council's Legislative Affairs Office, explains why.

"The quake has caused massive destruction to the local transport infrastructure. We need to first recover public transportation if we want to transport building materials into the region to build new houses for the local population. At the same time, it is also our priority to get electric power facilities operating again."

The directive stipulates（规定, 保证） that subsequent major reconstruction efforts should focus on makeshift houses and public facilities such as schools and hospitals.

Cao Kangtai says the quality of public buildings will be a critical factor.

"The regulation states that all high-occupancy public buildings that were destroyed in the earthquake should be rebuilt to meet higher quake-resistance criteria than those of ordinary buildings. Such buildings include museums, theaters, department stores and large transport stations."

He adds that the reconstruction work will be stricly supervised to guarantee quality, and governments above the county level are responsible for evaluating the buildings.

If the evaluations find quality problems, the projects' sponsors, designers, builders and supervisors will be punished according to terms outlined in the directive. Anyone suspected of giving or taking bribes will face criminal charges.

This regulation is the first of its kind in China. It has been specially designed to lead the reconstruction work in a legal context after the devastating natural disaster last month.