China continues evacuation of citizens from Japan's worst-hit areas

AOMORI/BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday continues to withdraw its nationals from the areas worst hit by a devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan.

More than 3,000 Chinese nationals have been evacuated from the worst-hit areas following last week's massive earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan, Chinese diplomats said Wednesday.

Gong Xiaodong, an official of the Chinese General Consulate in Niigata, told Xinhua over the phone that more than 3,000 Chinese nationals have been evacuated to Niigata from the three worst hit prefectures -- Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate.

Gong said the consulate has provided food and shelter to the Chinese and will also help them return home if they wish to.

About 600 Chinese left for home on Wednesday, and more frequent flights from Niigata to China have been arranged, she said.

In Sendai, prefectural capital of Miyagi, 20 buses were dispatched on Wednesday to pick up some 1,000 Chinese and take them to Niigata, a Chinese embassy official said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a notice Tuesday, advising Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan's quake-hit areas for the time being, while stressing that the ministry, the Chinese embassy and consulates in Japan will do everything possible to help those Chinese nationals in the disaster-hit areas leave in an orderly manner.

The Chinese embassy in Japan also posted an urgent notice on its website Tuesday, saying that the Chinese embassy and the Chinese consulate general in Niigata have taken immediate measures and will use all means possible to help Chinese nationals who are willing leave the areas worst hit by the quake.