China mourns its dead

China stood in silence today to mark one week since a massive earthquake devastated central Sichuan province. In scenes not seen since the death of Mao Zedong, millions of ordinary Chinese paid their respects to those that died in last week’s earthquake. At 14:28 local time, car horns and air-raid sirens wailed to mark the time the earthquake struck south-west China. Millions then stood in silence remembering the dead and sparing thoughts for those injured in the worst natural disaster in many years. Even in the devastated region, rescue workers stood silently to remember the dead, pausing from their search if only for a few moments. China has declared three days of national mourning and even the Olympic torch relay has been postponed. In recent days the continuing relay has been a sombre affair. The event has been virtually dropped from news reports in China and newspapers have pushed the events to the middle pages. Routes have been shortened and beginning and ending ceremonies have been marked with a minutes silence [Xinhua / CNN / BBC / Sky News].

For rescuers on the ground there are fewer and fewer people being pulled alive from the rubble. It will be a tough decision for authorities to make but they will soon have to move from a rescue mission to one of salvage and clear-up. Already pictures have emerged showing the mass graves as authorities struggle to deal with thousands of bodies. Emotion has to be pushed aside to deal with the practical disposal of the dead in order to prevent the spread of disease. But of course it is heart breaking for thousands of families unable to bury their dead with the respect they would prefer. DNA has been taken from the victims and numbers placed on the graves which may give some hope to those wishing to identify family members later on. Amidst all the grief there is also an under current of anger running through Chinese society. Some have suggested that school buildings were not properly constructed and that corruption had a part to play. While there has been critique in Western media, Chinese media has also questioned building standards especially after so many schools collapsed in the earthquake. On Wednesday, the China Daily asked questions over the quality of building construction and the Chinese government said anyone found to be responsible for substandard building work would be severely punished. In an editorial, the paper said the “quality of school buildings raises disturbing questions”. The state run paper continues; “Tragic though the circumstances are, we cannot afford not to raise uneasy questions about the quality of school buildings”. The editorial adds that if “subsequent investigations indicate that most of the school buildings collapsed because of their poor-quality construction or the builders’ shoddy compliance with building rules, we must take a firm resolve to do away with man-made factors that are easily neglected in normal times but prove disastrous in an emergency”. The criticism also extended to the slow allocation of government funding to “renovate buildings so that they can withstand major quakes”. On Saturday the story had made it to the front page of the state run paper. Jiang Weixin was quoted as saying, “If quality problems do exist in school buildings, those found responsible will be dealt with severely”. Up to 7,000 schools are said to have collapsed across the province and there has been criticism that whilst government buildings remained intact, nearby schools collapsed into rubble. The questions over building construction has been a dominant feature in Western news reports. CNN’s John Vause filing a report from the rubble of one school showed the thin wire used to reinforce buildings and both the BBC and Sky News have raised questions as to whether building regulations were flouted. It has to be said that there is no such thing as an 'earthquake proof' building. In the Kobe earthquake in 1995 at least 6,000 died despite stringent building regulations. Elevated roadways collapsed and infrastructural damage was widespread. Although only 60 died in the Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles the year before, many bridges and buildings were severely damaged. The Japan earthquake measured at 7.3 while the L.A tremor measured at 6.7. Chinese seismologists upgraded the magnitude of the Sichuan earthquake to 8.0 on Sunday, and though some might be cynical of the new status, even at 7.9 on the Richter scale there are few structures that survive such devastating tremors. But there is much debate on internet forums over so called ‘tofu buildings’ which crumbled in the wake of Monday’s earthquake.

On one forum some have asked whether cheap wire was used instead of high quality steel. But others have again expressed anger, not at Chinese authorities, but instead at Western media who they accuse of using the issue as another excuse for China bashing. Some have questioned the ‘facts’ being disseminated by the media. One writer questions the number of schools damaged in the quake saying that if 7,000 schools were destroyed even an average of 10 dead would equal 70,000 fatalities. “This is clearly nonsense!”, he says. Aside of the recriminations there remains the difficult and slow rebuilding of many towns and villages. Conservative estimates suggest the Sichuan earthquake has cost in excess of $10 billion in damage and loss to business. There is also the practical issue as to how authorities will house nearly 5 million people displaced by the disaster. Meanwhile China has made fresh appeals for international aid and donations. The official death toll now stands at 34,073. However, taking into account the numbers still buried or missing, the number may rise to more than 70,000. A further quarter of a million people have been injured many seriously.