China Mourns Earthquake Victims, Death Toll Rises to 34,073

From leaders on down, millions mourn quake dead

www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-19 15:33:07

BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) --

Millions of people in China and overseas observed three minutes of silence at 2:28 p.m. on Monday as they mourned the many killed in a deadly earthquake in Sichuan Province a week ago.

President Hu Jintao, top legislator Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao, and other top leaders including Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang also stood in silence in the central government compound of Zhongnanhai in Beijing.

The leaders, dressed in dark suits and wearing white paper flowers on their chests, bowed their heads in solemn silence below a national flag flying at half staff. Former President Jiang Zemin also stood in silence, separately.

The remembrance was part of a highly unusual three-day national period of mourning for those who died in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake.

The quake is known to have killed at least 32,000 people, but officials have said that the final toll could exceed 50,000.

Across the country, sirens and horns wailed; people fell silent. China Central Television darkened its screen. In the headquarters of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, more than 200 employees gathered in front of their office building, facing southwest, towards Sichuan, in a silent tribute.

In Tian'anmen square, thousands of people shouted "Go, Go, China!" "Brave and strong, China!" and "Brave and Strong, Wenchuan!” "Hang on, Sichuan!"

Wenchuan County was the epicenter of quake on May 12.

Financial markets suspended trading for three minutes. Some traders said people had asked about buying stocks of Sichuan-based companies to show support.

PRAYERS FOR SALVATION

Across the country, people honored the quake dead in various ways; some flew black kites and some held chrysanthemums. Children stood holding lit white candles, and villagers in China's remote northwest burnt incense sticks and paper money to see off the dead.

In front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of Tibet, residents mourned in the rain, and Lamaists prostrated themselves while saying prayers for the deceased.

"I saw the calamity of the earthquake in TV, and I pray for the people who died and hope those living are strong and hold on," said Ama Cering, a ethnic Tibetan woman.

MOMENT OF SILENCE IN BATTERED SICHUAN

In battered Sichuan, green-uniformed soldiers and rescuers in orange suits paused briefly for the mourning, joined by rescue forces from Japan, Russia, the Republic of Korea and Singapore.

"When the siren sounded, I felt a sudden shudder. I feel deeply sorry for those dead brothers," said Pu Taihua, a rescuer in Beichuan, tears mixing with sweat on his face.

Although rescuers are being challenged by the rugged terrain and aftershocks in Sichuan, more than 100,000 soldiers and rescuers are still battling to search for buried survivors.

The quake victims, who are clinging to hope that their relatives have somehow survived, also took time to join the mourning.

In Beichuan County, one of the worst-hit areas in Sichuan, surviving students, wearing white T-shirts, stood with their heads deeply bowed. Some of them had been orphaned by the earthquake.

In Anxian County, also hit hard, more than 1,800 homeless residents gathered on open ground for the remembrance. Peng Hao, a boy who lost his father, wrapped himself in his dad's blanket and wailed plaintively with his mother.

In the Tianpeng Middle School in Pengzhou City, Sichuan, thousands of people gathered on the playground. An eerie silence was broken by cries from the crowd after a baby, Dong Chengyuan, began to wail in the arms of his grandmother.

The baby, whose grandfather died in the quake, wore a black armband that read "mourning" in Chinese.

Baby Dong's mother, Chen Jiao, said the family had cried all their tears. "When I found my dad, he was crushed by two beams, one on his neck and another on his feet. His body was almost disfigured," said Chen.

After the memorial, residents wandered around the playground, reluctant to leave.

WOUNDS WILL HEAL

From herdsmen and hearing-impaired children to elderly survivors of the deadly 1976 Tangshan earthquake, from bus drivers in Beijing to barter traders along the China-Russia border in Manzhouli, grieving Chinese are rallying against the disaster.

"My best friend died in the earthquake, but wounds will heal, homes will be rebuilt and everything will be all right," said Zhang Xiaomei, a student in the Yinghua Middle School in Deyang City.

On Monday, a downtown square in Chengdu was crammed with thousands of people who shouted "Go, Sichuan!" "Go China!" amid tears.

"The people in Sichuan are not alone. The whole China of is supporting them," said Ma Guoxi, a student in Ningxia University.

Mark Hancock, an Australian teacher in Qinghai, joined hundreds of Chinese mourners in a downtown square in Xining, capital of Qinghai Province.

"It's been a terrible catastrophe for China, for the Chinese people," he said, struggling to hold back tears. "It's a time for China to demonstrate its enormous strength to overcome the tragedy, and people all over the world are with them and supporting them," he added.

"The earthquake took away people's lives, but it will not frighten the brave Chinese people into retreat. We will get over the hardships and a stronger China will have a better future," said He Bin, a police officer of the Anhui Provincial Public Security Department.

President Hu Jintao, standing atop the rubble amid aftershocks on Sunday, said through loudspeakers to the soldiers in the quake-hit Shifang City: "I truly believe that the heroic Chinese people will not yield to any difficulty!"

China earthquake death toll rises to 34,073

www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-19 16:14:04

BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) --

The death toll in China's devastating earthquake rose to 34,073 as of noon on Monday, according to the earthquake relief headquarters of the State Council (cabinet).

Another 245,108 people were injured in the 8.0-magnitude quake that jolted southwestern Sichuan Province last Monday.

According to the Ministry of Health, about 52,934 people have been hospitalized and 7,979 have recovered, while 3,304 died in hospital.

China began a three-day mourning period for the victims on Monday, with flags flying at half-staff and public amusements suspended.

Meanwhile, the country has been mobilized for rescue and relief work.

As of Sunday evening, the civil affairs departments and army had sent more than 250,000 tents, 723,500 quilts, 1.78 million pieces of clothes and food and water worth 34.22 million yuan (4.96 million U.S. dollar) to the quake-hit regions.

According to the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC), power supply to all quake-stricken counties has been restored at least partly, except for Beichuan, Maoxian and Wolong.

Satellite devices have been provided to 76 of the 109 townships where telecom service was shut off, and fixed line phone service was reconnected in the seven worst-hit counties in Sichuan as of 8:48 p.m. Sunday.

The State Disaster Relief Commission and Ministry of Science and Technology established an expert team here on Monday. Academic and government experts will evaluate the quake intensity, the geographic impact, other natural disasters caused by earthquakes and solutions, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The team will submit comprehensive proposals to decision makers, it said.

The Ministry of Public Security confirmed that no serious crimes had taken place in quake-hit regions. "Local society remained stable and in order," the ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Police have improved security at hospitals, temporary shelters, medical camps, warehouses for relief material, banks and public utilities, it said.

The ministry asked local police to improve patrols and security checks in quake-hit residential areas as residents move to shelters. "They will crack down upon any criminals sneaking into victims' house and stealing properties," the statement said.

Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.