(Update May 13) I put two links about Sichuan earthquake on the top of middle side bar: one in Chinese; one in English.
Yesterday afternoon when I listened to NPR Melissa Block live report (click on listen: Melissa Block at a shattered school) from Chengdu/China, I was almost in tears. Melissa was in Chengdu for special report on what’s new in China, and was caught by the earquake.
Earthquake
By now you may have heard the 7.8 earthquake happened in China Si’chuan province. The Chinese goverment and its people are doing their best to rescue the people being buried under the rubbles. A few weeks ago we had a 5.2 earthquake happened near St. Louis (the epicenter is about 100 miles away from STL, news in English, in Chinese). But this 7.8 is at the famous Tangshan earthquake level (1976), in which 250,000 lives were lost.
When natural disaster like that happens, we human beings some times felt powerless. We also got opportunity take a deep breath, and ask ourselves, what is the most precious thing in life? I remember people asked this question after Sept. 11 world trader center incidents.
On the positive side, amid the recent China snow storm (before Chinese New Year), I read 13 Tangshan farmers volunteered to help restoring power in Hu’nan. Volunterism is still new in China, but very refreshing.
More later,
Goverment reaponse
Katrina, Mymmar (Burma),