earthquake

“This maybe the world’s tiniest memorial hall. Not quite 5 meter by 5 meter, it’s intent is not to mark an important historical event, or eulogize a famous person, only to remember an ordinary life.”
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Jul 01

minipost-Addition To My “Follow-On Article (2)”

Written by: Chan | Filed under:-mini-posts, Environment, General, Letters, politics | Tags:blog, children, China, earthquake, sichuan
45 Comments » newest

*** ( NOTE : This is an addition to the 2nd “follow-on” article I wrote recently. I would highly recommend you read that article first before starting this one if you haven’t already. The purpose of this article is to answer a couple of questions raised by some readers. ) *** ( click here to read that follow-on article )
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Jun 27

Follow-On Article (2) (for the Sichuan Quake article)

Written by: Chan | Filed under:Environment, General, politics | Tags:blog, children, China, earthquake, sichuan
97 Comments » newest

*** ( NOTE : This is the 2nd and last “follow-on” article of the parent artcle titled : “Putting the Sichuan Quake into Perspective“. This 2nd “follow-on” article, like the 1st one, is NOT meant to be a stand-alone article. I would therefore highly recommend you read that article before starting this one. The parent article is only 1 page long, and should provide the context in which this article should be viewed ) *** ( click here to read the 1st article ) Continue reading »

Jun 24

Follow-On Article (1) (for the Sichuan Quake article)

Written by: Chan | Filed under:Environment, General, politics | Tags:blog, children, China, earthquake, sichuan
41 Comments » newest

*** ( NOTE : This is a follow-on of the artcle titled : “Putting the Sichuan Quake into Perspective“. This 2nd article is NOT meant to be a stand-alone article. I would therefore highly recommend you read that article before starting this one. The 1st article is only 1 page long, and should provide the context in which this article should be viewed ) *** ( click here to read the 1st article )
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Jun 22

Putting the Sichuan Quake into Perspective (Re-Post)

Written by: Chan | Filed under:Environment, General, politics | Tags:blog, children, China, earthquake, sichuan
88 Comments » newest

( Note : This is a re-post of the same article taken from the blogsite : chinablogs.wordpress.com dated May 10, 2009. You are most welcomed to give your feedback using the Comments section here or on my above blogsite. You may also find the comments and my feedback on the above blogsite interesting. It includes an interesting comment from an American with first hand experience of the quake. )

***

May 12

Saving Grace

Written by: berlinf | Filed under:Environment, General | Tags:earthquake, translation
39 Comments » newest

This post was a translation from Li Chengpeng’s blog as part of our effort to memorize the tragic earthquake one year ago. The author Li was a sports commentator who later on became active in other public spheres. After the Sichuan earthquake, he went to Beichuan as a reporter as well as a volunteer. As far as I know, this blog post had not been published anywhere other than his blog. However, I find it to be a touching story of the human spirit when faced with such disasters, and the miraculous impact a good conscience may have.

Original title: 北川邓家”刘汉小学”无一死亡奇迹背后的真相 (The truth behind the zero death miracle of the Bei chuan Liu Han Elementary School)

Today, I am not going to write how many died. It pains me to write about these today. Let me talk about miracles. Continue reading »

Jun 11

Tent Donation Campaign

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:Announcements | Tags:activism, earthquake
4 Comments » newest

According to government forecasts, up to 3 million tents are desperately needed in the earthquake zone. Every available tent in China has been redirected to this effort, and other international donors have done their best to help as well. (Pakistan, notably, has apparently donated every tent it owns to China.)

Not satisfied with just donating money to a nameless charity, a group of US-based Chinese on MITBBS have formed a group to take direct action. They are purchasing tents in the United States and shipping them directly to Sichuan. Below is their story (文章), and an opportunity for you to help.

Jun 10

Relief effort unites ethnic minorities

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:News | Tags:earthquake, minorities
19 Comments » newest

Hong-Kong-based South China Morning Post (and perhaps East Asia’s leading English language newspaper) gives us this article (courtesy of Bill Savadore in Qingchengshan):

Bai Liqun still remembers the stories told by the elders about a time when her people slaughtered “Red Army” soldiers who entered the homeland of the Qiang ethnic group around 1949 because they feared the communist government would take away their land.

In the ensuing decades, the Qiang have become increasingly assimilated with the Han majority in Sichuan province through intermarriages and government-funded education for their children.

Relief efforts after the earthquake in Wenchuan county, a centre for the Qiang people, have bolstered the image of the government among ethnic minorities after a security crackdown against Tibetan protests in March.

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Jun 02

“Running Fan”: The freedom to be selfish

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:culture | Tags:earthquake, rightist
39 Comments » newest

Here is how one of the most controversial Chinese blog posts in recent memory begins:

“I have been engulfed in sadness that I was not born in a country like the United States, a country which respects freedom, democracy, and human rights! This is due to the pain I’ve suffered in the 10+ years since graduation, and it’s also due to the 17 years of pathetic education that I received before that. I’ve repeatedly questioned God: why did you give me such a freedom, and truth loving soul, but then force me to be born in a dark, authoritarian China? Why are you forcing such suffering upon me?”

These are the words of earthquake survivor Fan Meizhong (范美忠), a man who has also been given the moniker “Running Fan” (范跑跑).

May 31

Lesson on physics: a stone sinks deeper if it keeps on digging

Written by: DJ | Filed under:media, News | Tags:China, earthquake, Hollywood, media
17 Comments » newest

Alright, I have to concede, after a few days of reflection, that I might have been a bit too harsh on Sharon Stone.

Some of the commentators, both on this blog and else where, have suggested/recommended leaving her alone for it was not worth the ink (or the LCD backlight decay) to argue over her remarks. I see the wisdom of such perspectives now. All I really should have done is to stand aside and watch her pushing the proverbial high heel and the attached flesh ever deeper down into her throat.

So Sharon, please keep going. And would you like a bigger shovel?

PS: Could anyone explain to me why Google News, when the term “Sharon Stone” is queried, would return a top ranked link titled “Actress Stone Contrite Over China Comments” whereas the referenced NYT article is actually titled “Actress Stone and Dior Differ Over Apology”?

May 30

Signs from the front lines

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:General | Tags:earthquake
2 Comments » newest

A volunteer has posted a gorgeous collection of images of the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake on Tianya. There are equally beautiful stories attached to these images, but I can’t possibly translate them all.

Tens of thousands of average citizens have driven into the disaster zone, bringing food, water, and moral support. There has been so much traffic that tourist style road-maps have been setup. Along the way, they’ve seen suffering, but also great courage. And here are some of the signs the volunteers saw as they drove:

Unlimited Thanks!

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May 27

Farmers Laboring In the Rubble

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:culture, video | Tags:earthquake
3 Comments » newest

This touching blog entry was referred to us by long-time reader Bing Ma Yong. Thanks, BMY.

After interviewing on the front lines for more than 10 days, I’ve seen too much tragedy, I’ve witnessed too many touched moments, I’ve seen too many shocking pictures. But there is one more thing that has really moved me with an indescribable sense of sadness mixed with pride: the farmers I saw laboring in the rubble of their destroyed homes (in Pengzhou).

May 26

School collapses: local government promises “answers within one month”

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:News | Tags:corruption, earthquake
12 Comments » newest

Roland at ESWN provides this translation of an excellent Southern Metropolis story about the local government’s promises to fully investigate school collapses in the area.

Many Chinese netizens in recent days have aimed a flood of scorn and vitrol towards local Mianyang party secretary Jiang Guohua, accusing him of being involved in local corruption, and then trying to cover up the scale of the disaster from higher levels of government. The picture of him kneeling will bring cheers from many people.

I don’t know the truth of these accusations, and I will not convict Jiang Guohua on the basis of accusations alone. But if the Deyang city government (one level up from Mianyang) follows through on its promises, then China will have taken another major step forward in the long march towards rule of law.

May 26

Sharon Stone reveals her dark basic instinct

Written by: DJ | Filed under:media, News | Tags:China, dalai lama, earthquake, Hollywood, media
95 Comments » newest

While being interviewed at the Cannes film festival, Sharon Stone shared some candid words on her reactions to the Sichuan earthquake, which to date is estimated to have killed more than 80,000 (including confirmed fatalities and those missing) and left millions homeless. I would strongly urge everyone to listen for yourself at this YouTube link. The following is a transcript I took down from the video clip as precisely as possible. The capitalized words reflect her own emphasized tones.

[EDITED to break the transcript into more readable parts]

Sharon Stone: … Well you know it was very interesting because at first, you know, I am not happy about the ways the Chinese were treating the Tibetans because I don’t think anyone should be unkind to anyone else. And so I have been very concerned about how to think and what to do about that because I don’t like THAT.

And I had been this, you know, concerned about, oh how should we deal with the Olympics because they are not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who is a good friend of mine.

And all these earthquake and stuff happened and I thought: IS THAT KARMA? When you are not nice that bad things happen to you.

And then I got a letter, from the Tibetan Foundations that they want to go and be helpful. And that made me cry. And they ask me if I would write a quote about that and I said, “I would.” And it was a big lesson to me, that some times you have to learn to put your head down and be of service even to people who are not nice to you. And that’s a big lesson for me.

May 24

Chinese netizens continue to monitor earthquake corruption

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:Analysis, News | Tags:corruption, earthquake, tent
3 Comments » newest

The Red Cross corruption story yesterday was only the tip of the iceberg. A number of subsequent stories have since floated to the surface; in some cases, there have been been clashes between police and angry citizens.

May 23

Tianya: The most bad-ass Sichuan earthquake rescue team

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:News | Tags:charity, earthquake, peasants
7 Comments » newest

The Chinese internet has been filled with literally thousands of stories of individual heroism from the recent earthquake… from victims, to PLA soldiers, to doctors, to volunteers, there are far too many for us to count or translate.

But this story in particular got the attention of many Chinese. It’s about a small group of poor Chinese peasants who drove across all of China in a rickety tractor in order in order to help in the disaster relief. For this reason, they’ve earned the label “the most bad-ass rescue team”.

May 22

Red Cross in the Crosshairs

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:News | Tags:charity, corruption, earthquake
30 Comments » newest

For the many Chinese critical of their government, their number one concern isn’t “human rights” or “freedom of expression”… instead, it’s corruption pervasive throughout Chinese society. In the aftermath of the earthquake, this issue is again on prominent display.

The Chinese Red Cross is playing a critical role in managing relief donations for victims of the earthquake. However, along with great authority comes great responsibility. The Red Cross is now being hit with allegations of corruption from every corner.

May 22

Some rabid Falun Gong followers show their ugly side in Flushing, NY

Written by: DJ | Filed under:media, News | Tags:China, earthquake, Falun Gong, featured
358 Comments » newest

China’s crackdown on Falun Gong (FLG) is frequently cited in the west as evidence of human rights abuse and suppression of religion. On the other hand, some of the FLG followers make it really difficult to sympathize with their cause.

Case in point, there are reports of FLG followers publicly cheering the Sichuan earthquake as a karmic response from heaven on the Chinese Communist Party. ESWN provided a translation of a report from Ming Pao dated May 21, 2008:

The confrontation between Queens county residents and the FLG practitioners is now on its fourth day …

Yesterday at 10am, several dozen FLG member appeared in front of the Flushing Public Library. Just like the past three days before, they unfurled banners that pronounced “The Heavens destroy the Chinese Communists,” “Experts sent Sichuan earthquake prediction report confidentially to authorities” and so on to show the passer-bys. Some of the FLG members said that they have been criticising the Chinese Communist regime and they thought that the Sichuan earthquake revealed the evil nature of the Chinese Communists. Some FLG members even said that the Sichuan earthquake was the result of the violent rule of the Chinese Communists.

…

May 22

A Canadian professor and his Tsinghua students

Written by: admin | Filed under:culture, education | Tags:earthquake, students, Tsinghua, youth
6 Comments » newest

Tsinghua University is one of the most prominent universities in China. Current President Hu Jintao and former premier Zhu Rongji are both Tsinghua alumni. So it’s naturally intriguing to know what current Tsinghua students are like, since they are probably China’s future leaders. Daniel Bell, a Professor of Political Philosophy and Ethics at Tsinghua University in Beijing, provided an insider’s view today at The New York Times.

Previous Entries

Fool's Mountain: Blogging for China

minipost-Massive Earthquake Hits Qinghai Province

[Translation] Haiti Quake Headlines In Chinese Media

minipost-Letter: A Tiny Memorial For A Tiny Life

minipost-Addition To My “Follow-On Article (2)”

Follow-On Article (2) (for the Sichuan Quake article)

Follow-On Article (1) (for the Sichuan Quake article)

Putting the Sichuan Quake into Perspective (Re-Post)

Saving Grace

Tent Donation Campaign

Relief effort unites ethnic minorities

“Running Fan”: The freedom to be selfish

Lesson on physics: a stone sinks deeper if it keeps on digging

Signs from the front lines

Farmers Laboring In the Rubble

School collapses: local government promises “answers within one month”

Sharon Stone reveals her dark basic instinct

Chinese netizens continue to monitor earthquake corruption

Tianya: The most bad-ass Sichuan earthquake rescue team

Red Cross in the Crosshairs

Some rabid Falun Gong followers show their ugly side in Flushing, NY

A Canadian professor and his Tsinghua students

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