Talking Points: May 13 - 27, 2009

Talking Points
May 13 - 27, 2009

A 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan province a year ago, killing nearly 90,000 people and leaving more than five million homeless. Chinese officials marked the anniversary by releasing a “white paper,” designating May 12, 2009 as the first “Disaster Prevention and Reduction Day,” and organizing national and local ceremonies to mourn the dead. Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao spoke in quake devastated Yingxiu saying, “Faced with unprecedented disaster …. and under the strong leadership of the Party’s Central Committee, the State Council, and the Party’s Central Military Commission, the entire Party, the entire army, and the country’s people of all ethnicities … mobilized the fastest, widest and strongest relief efforts to save as many lives as possible….”

The Chinese government marshaled immense resources to aid in rescue and relief. Helicopters were dispatched, and in some cases soldiers parachuted into remote areas to offer help. Blood drives were organized and injured were shipped to distant hospitals. Cities such as Shenzhen were called upon to rapidly deliver prefabricated housing.

May 12, 2008, though, may be best remembered for the unscripted and widespread outpouring of support from ordinary Chinese. People loaded up private SUVs with supplies and headed out. They took up collections. They utilized cell phones and websites to gather and disseminate information. They raised money (corporations, and foreign governments and individuals donated heavily as well, as of Monday a total of US $11.2 billion had been raised).

And ordinary Chinese insisted on mourning the dead.

This prompted the government to declare three days of mourning. At the outset, people stopped, horns honked, and websites went black and white. Never before were disaster victims so formally remembered.

People in China were transfixed by remarkable stories of rescued women giving birth and some of the trapped holding out for days. They carefully monitored the rescue efforts. Media outlets from across China ignored directives calling on them to utilize only centrally produced stories and images. They met the reader and viewer demand by sending in their own reporters and camera crews. This unintentional openness further stimulated popular support for relief efforts.

The openness also meant that the collapse of 6,900 school buildings drew special notice. According to official statistics released this week, 5,335 schoolchildren were among those killed. Some charged that some school buildings collapsed because they were poorly constructed. Distraught parents and others argued that officials had been bribed to award construction contracts to unscrupulous builders whose shoddy techniques were overlooked by similarly corrupt inspectors.

In fairly short order, provincial and other authorities moved to squelch this grumbling by offering parents compensation for their loss (payments have sometimes been equal to several years earnings), pledging pensions, or when necessary sending in security officers to break up meetings, turn away reporters, or lock up the occasional organizer/blogger. As the first anniversary neared, Chinese news organizations were directed to highlight achievements in reconstruction. (Click here for the Xinhua anniversary website.)

There are some who remain defiant. They reject the government’s explanation that so many school buildings collapsed simply because of the ferocity of the quake (which was 8 times stronger than the 1994 quake that caused damage across Los Angeles). They note cases where buildings adjacent to schools did not collapse. Ai Weiwei, one of those who designed Beijing’s Olympic Stadium, is the best known of these critics. He’s told the New York Times that officials are harassing volunteers who are helping him pull together his own list of children killed in the disaster. He argues, “What the government has done is irresponsible…. The Chinese people deserve better.”

A year later, staggering rebuilding challenges remain. Millions are still in temporary quarters. Some who lost jobs are scrapping by leading tourists through rumble or by hawking photo and video compilations of the tragedy. Huge sums of money have been allocated for infrastructure rebuilding. People are putting their lives back together. Some of the most inspiring are children who have been fitted with prosthetic arms and legs and are learning to use them. Some couples who lost children have given birth or are planning to have a child.

If you would like to contribute to the recovery effort, a number of organizations including the Red Cross Society of China are accepting donations. They and most other relief organizations (e.g., the American Red Cross) have issued reports on what they and their funds have accomplished.

We, too, mourn those lost on May 12, 2008 and celebrate the work of all those who have sought to help.

US-China Today has offered a number of articles on the quake. These include reports on a film by Pan Jianlian, a Chinese filmmaker, on media coverage of the tragedy, and on one American group’s aid efforts. The latest issue of the magazine includes features on hip hop music in China, China's increasing investments in Latin America, and the second class status of migrant children. 

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