By David Bandurski — While the initial dangers of the Sichuan earthquake seem to have passed, the area continues to be rocked by aftershocks, landslides and mud and rock flows that endanger survivors and rescue workers. In his latest column on the Wenchuan quake, CMP director Qian Gang re-visits the Diexi earthquake of 1933 and the lessons it holds for today.

“’Bursting ‘earthquake lakes’ send us a warning through history”
Qian Gang (钱钢)
A magnitude 8.0 earthquake, powerful aftershocks and massive landslides and mud and rock flows superimposed on one another have made the Wenchuan earthquake extremely destructive. Many rivers have been obstructed, resulting in at least 21 barrier lakes in the area. These lakes are large and their water levels high. In some areas, destroyed homes have already been submerged. Disaster relief headquarters has already ordered a thorough investigation of these barrier lakes. The Ministry of Water Resources, armed hydroelectric police units and experts organized by the Sichuan provincial government are closely watching the situation.
The largest barrier lake collapse in China in the last century had cataclysmic results. Well-known Chinese earthquake forecasting expert Geng Qingguo (耿庆国) observed the disaster scene at that time first-hand, and he wrote about it in “The Collapse of ‘Earthquake Lakes’: The 1933 Diexi Earthquake” (published in the book One-hundred Major Disasters in 20th Century China/二十世纪中国重灾百录).

[ABOVE: Image of remains of the Diexi barrier lake, from the Science Museums of China website.]

Notice the name of this place – Diexi. Diexi is a town in Sichuan’s Mao County (茂县), and it falls within the area of today’s major quake. At 3:50 pm on August 25, 1933, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Diexi, with an epicentral intensity of X. The town of Diexi was entirely destroyed. As is the case in Wenchuan, the Diexi quake brought massive landslides at three points in Diexi, obstructing the Minjiang River (岷江). Eleven days after the earthquake a lake had appeared high up in the gorge. The water in the lake stretched back more than 12 kilometers, and at its widest point it was two kilometers across. It had become a major lake.
45 days after the quake, at 7pm on October 9, 1933, powerful aftershocks burst the barrier lake. The water gushed forth from the lake, tearing away the steep slopes on either shore and sending towering floodwaters rushing down the valley.
Geng Qingguo leaves us the following startling account:
“The waters gushed forth at 7pm, reaching Mao County by 9pm, Weizhou (威旧) by 11pm, reaching Wenchuan (汶川) by midnight and Guan County (灌县) by early the next day . . . “
These historical records reveal that the Wenchuan earthquake region of today was in fact in the past wiped out by the catastrophic bursting of a barrier lake caused by a quake. And the bursting of that barrier lake 75 years ago reminds us of the immense secondary dangers posed by earthquakes. In the Diexi earthquake itself, an estimated 7,000 lives were lost, but in the secondary bursting of the barrier lake 20,000 people died. 4,000 corpses alone were pulled out of Dujiangyan.
The aftershocks of today’s Sichuan earthquake have not yet ceased, landslides and mud and rock flows are still occurring, and precipitation is still building. Those 20 or so barrier lakes are ticking time bombs. I hope engineering experts conduct further inspections in order to fully understand the potential dangers, and take effective measures, diverting water and ensuring the safety of survivors and rescue workers in the disaster area.
I once worked at the China Earthquake Administration’s China Disaster Reduction Press. The editor in chief was Geng Qingguo. He is a scientist who has devoted his life to the study of earthquake prediction, and in The Great Tangshan Earthquake I make many references to his work. After the Wenchuan quake occurred, I recalled that when I was working together with Mr. Geng, I often heard him talking with other earthquake experts about a place called “Maowen” (茂汶). This, in fact, was Mao County and Wenchuan. In 1958 they were merged into the Maowen Qiang Autonomous County (茂汶羌族自治县). This is an area earthquake specialists in China have long paid attention to.
Probing deeply into this massive earthquake will be the work of many days. At present, relief work goes ahead under precipitous circumstances, as the barrier lakes are raised like swords overhead. By recalling the historical facts of the Diexi quake, I want only to encourage those leading the relief effort to be watchful!
[Posted By David Bandurski, May 23, 2008, 1:47pm]

FURTHER READING:
“Rains threaten China quake lake disaster“, Reuters, May 23, 2008
“Rain forecast for SW China, adding to ‘quake lake’ risks“, People’s Daily, May 22, 2008

By David Bandurski — As the hope of finding survivors in the rubble of the Sichuan earthquake grows dim, the focus of the relief effort is turning toward the needs and conditions of the close to five million people left homeless by the disaster. Disease prevention is a key priority. In his latest editorial on the quake, CMP director Qian Gang talks about the urgency and enormity of disease prevention efforts on the ground in Sichuan.

“The Decisive Battle Against Disease in the Quake Area Has Begun!”
By Qian Gang (钱钢)
The most important matter now facing the disaster area [in Sichuan province] is disease prevention. Temperatures are rising by the day, and many bodies of the lost have yet to be recovered from the rubble. Threats to the well being of quake survivors and relief workers are on the rise.
32 years ago, when I entered Tangshan as a member of the disease prevention team, I witnessed abysmal living conditions in the disaster area. Tangshan and the Sichuan quake are similar in the sense that the lifelines for cities and towns — things like electricity and water – have been completely wiped away, and poor sanitation and lack of drinking water are major problems. Mechanisms for removing human waste, polluted water and other garbage have all been totally paralyzed. Medical and disease prevention systems have been seriously impacted. After Tangshan, the bodies of 240,000 victims had to be disposed of. Disease did not break out, but this was a miraculous stroke of luck.
But there are several things that make the battle against disease today different from the situation following the Tangshan quake.
For starters, the area encompassed by the disaster [in Sichuan] is many times larger than that of the Tangshan earthquake, and severely damaged towns and cities are spread throughout the area. The upshot of this is that the battle lines in the fight against disease are incredibly long. In the city and countryside, there are vast numbers of corpses of domesticated animals in addition to human bodies. As areas are cut off from the power grid and large-scale cooling facilities either destroyed or out of operation, a great mass of other items is now rotting as well. The amount of daily garbage now rotting out in the open is truly staggering. All of this distinguishes the present situation from what we saw back in Tangshan, in a time when goods were scarce. Disease prevention will be a major undertaking. The current strategy from the [earthquake relief] command headquarters, in which disease prevention teams from various provinces spread out and cover particular counties [in the disaster area], is correct, but what we don’t know is whether these disease prevention teams are sufficient.
The task of clearing bodies from the rubble is more difficult than for Tangshan. The collapsed structures in the Sichuan quake area, with their steel-reinforced concrete, far surpass the scale of Tangshan. That is to say, rescue workers will have to work through a mass of complex and intricate collapsed structures in order to find survivors and clear out bodies. In the coming few days, this work will go ahead under increasingly tough conditions. In the end, I’m afraid there may be many bodies that cannot be retrieved.
The management of disease prevention is more complex than it was for Tangshan. 32 years ago, in the final days of the Cultural Revolution, the disaster area was managed almost like a militarization. In today’s disaster area, it is much harder to handle things as they were handled in Tangshan, when corpses were gathered and buried expediently. In this quake, the government has given consideration to the feelings of the bereaved in formulating procedures for the handling of corpses. The government has designated a procedure for the claiming of bodies, even allowing the laying out of corpses prior to cremation. Some relatives of the dead have resisted the idea of mass burial, which has added a new level of difficulty to handling the situation.
This time, the rescue workers, news reporters and volunteers in the disaster area are also far more diverse than was the case for Tangshan. There is the potential for inadequacies in the handling of personal hygiene and protection. Journalists on the front lines tell me that their own disease protection and sterilization is being handled by volunteers. While this is an effective method, I hope it can be extended to everyone.
As we see on television, ordinary people in the county-level city of Wenchuan are now using cardboard to shield themselves from the sun. The temperature in the disaster area has already reached 30 degrees Celsius and is steadily going up. In the two weeks following the Tangshan earthquake the temperature quickly dropped, exactly the opposite situation. A crisis in the handling of bodies in the Sichuan earthquake region is already imminent . . .
In Tangshan, many bodies were not buried deep enough, and toward the end of the year, the Ministry of Health issued an order for mass exhumation and reburying. In Sichuan, if the same thing happens in the hot summer just around the corner, the ramifications are hard to even imagine.
The war against disease has already begun. The leaders of the relief effort are taking decisive measures, cordoning off areas of rubble where contamination is severe and arranging for temporary quarters for disaster victims further away from the rubble. Here, I want to offer my deepest respect to those brave soldiers doing the difficult work of removing bodies!

[Posted by David Bandurski, May 22, 2008, 12:03pm]

By David Bandurski — Over the past week in China there has been an outpouring of support for victims of the Sichuan earthquake. Donation drives around the country have drawn in millions upon millions of yuan for the relief effort. But in a country where institutional corruption is a perennial headache, how can Chinese citizens who have opened their hearts and their wallets for the victims of this disaster ensure that relief donations reach those who need them?
In a recent article, columnist Lao Dan (老蛋) said this was a question not just about accountability, but about the dignity of the Chinese people. Lao called for the creation of a special authority to oversee the use of donations and make regular reports to the Chinese public.
“We have a responsibility to demand that the government establish an interim authority to conduct a transparent and effective audit of donations,” he wrote.
Portions of the article follow.
On this issue, we also recommend that readers check out CMP’s case study on the Project Hope corruption case, reported by CMP fellow Zhai Minglei (翟明磊).

“Aside from Giving Donations, There is Something Important Required of Us”
By Lao Dan (老蛋)
In recent days, countless Chinese have devoted great love in the face of disaster, and countless tears have washed our inner hearts. And still, all of our words and donations cannot remedy the sadness and hurt of those disaster victims who have lost their loved ones. All of our angst and toil cannot bring back the precious lives of loved ones lost.
Everyone is asking within him or herself, how can I do my part for this disaster? . . .
The vast majority of people have decided to donate money, and this is the best and most direct method. For days now an ever-rising amount of donations has served to sooth the hearts of people across the nation.
However, there is one other thing we need to do . . . For the disaster area, for those brothers and sisters who have lost their children, for those brothers and sisters who have lost their parents and relatives . . . we have a responsibility to demand that these donated funds are dispensed under effective supervision by relevant government authorities in order to ensure that they are actually used for disaster victims, in order to ensure that they can really help disaster victims rebuild their homes, and to ensure that the Chinese people are not deprived of their dignity in the face of this massive disaster.
We have a responsibility to demand that the government establish an interim authority to conduct a transparent and effective audit of donations, and make regular reports to the public via the media and the Internet. We must know that the work of rebuilding after this disaster will not happen overnight, that we have a long road of disaster relief ahead of us . . .
So, as we all face this disaster together, we have a personal responsibility to call on and supervise government units using donated funds to ensure that they are used transparently. The state has a responsibility to empower relevant offices to supervise the use [of funds]. And those units distributing and using the donated funds have a responsibility to put the people of the nation at ease, knowing that the funds they donated to fundraising efforts are used for disaster relief . . .

[Posted by David Bandurski, May 21, 2008, 5:35pm HK]

By David Bandurski — On the morning of May 12, just hours before the disastrous magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck Sichuan, many readers in the provincial capital of Chengdu would have been poring through the latest edition of Huaxi Metropolis Daily (华西都市报), one of the region’s leading commercial newspapers (which, in fact, broke the Henan Aids epidemic story back in 1999). And the paper would have offered its characteristically dynamic look into city life, in marked contrast to its stiff and stodgy party counterpart, Sichuan Daily.
Sure, the main story that morning leaned a bit toward the party boilerplate — a Xinhua News Agency piece about China’s launch of its own domestic commercial jet manufacturer. Sure, there was an editorial off to the right from Sichuan Daily, blathering on about the party slogan “emancipation of minds” (思想大解放).
But there was plenty else to induce the discerning reader to pluck the paper off the newsstand.

[ABOVE: Front page of the May 12 edition of Sichuan’s Huaxi Metropolis Daily.]

At center was a teaser for a juicy human interest story about a local woman who suddenly went into labor while she was in the car. There were two color photos to tug on the heartstrings, the first of the swaddled newborn, the second of happy new parents (a pair of Mother’s Day stories).
Tags pointed readers to other exciting content inside — coverage of the Cannes Film Festival, where the paper had posted a correspondent, analysis of China’s ping-pong hopes in the upcoming Olympic Games, and a story about a policeman in Chongqing who died of exhaustion at his desk.
Four days later, after the devastation wrought by the Wenchuan earthquake, Huaxi Metropolis Daily looked like a different newspaper altogether.

[ABOVE: Front page of the May 16 edition of Sichuan’s Huaxi Metropolis Daily.]

The difference was not merely that all of the front page news dealt with the earthquake and its impact on the area. That was understandable.
But in its layout the paper had made a sudden return to the habits of its party-paper ancestors. There was no longer any material difference with the layout of the wooden Sichuan Daily, save tiny advertisements for Sanyo and China Mobile, and the welcome respite of a right-hand sidebar.

[ABOVE: Front page of the May 16 edition of Sichuan’s Sichuan Daily.]

There were other important changes too. The space just to the side of the newspaper’s masthead, generally a photo-accompanied teaser for reader-relevant inside coverage, had been scrapped for a Sichuan Daily release about how Sichuan Party Secretary Liu Qibao (刘奇葆) and vice-secretary Jiang Jufeng (蒋巨峰) had “taken the lead in contributing funds” for the relief effort.
All of the coverage on the front page of Huaxi Metropolis Daily was either from the official Xinhua News Agency or from the province’s party mouthpiece, Sichuan Daily.
The lead photograph — indeed, the only large photograph — was of top provincial officials, a clear throwback to the party-paper rule book.
This, of course, is not what we have come to expect from China’s new brand of commercial newspapers.
Since commercial newspapers emerged in China in the mid-to-late 1990s, their coverage has been increasingly distinct from that of the party newspapers, or dangbao (党报), which have persisted in the party news style, a stiff recounting of the actions and decisions of party and government leaders. While party papers have remained true to the media’s historic “mouthpiece” (喉舌) role under the CCP, commercial newspapers have, “propaganda discipline” notwithstanding, offered much more diverse content and a livelier look and feel.
Here’s the front page from the May 17 edition of Shanghai’s Oriental Morning Post, more of what we’ve come to expect from commercially-oriented papers.

For a more thorough look at differences in coverage between party and commercial newspapers, we point readers to CMP’s 2006 case on the corruption scandal involving Beijing mayor Liu Zhihua.
It’s tough to say right now what the reasons are behind Huaxi Metropolis Daily‘s party-retro makeover, or why it seems to have occurred on May 16 (the previous three editions show the paper in reasonably commercial form).
While we know that China’s attitude in handling the disaster has so far been refreshingly open, it is conceivable — though this is purely speculation at this point — that Sichuan’s top party leaders have utilized (not necessarily with the worst of intentions, mind you) local commercial newspapers in order to take advantage of their vastly greater circulations.
Since the 1990s, the circulations of party newspapers throughout China have steadily dropped, and Sichuan’s officialSichuan Daily is no exception. This has presented something of a dilemma for party leaders hoping to get their own messages out to the public.
Of course, we do need to keep in mind that Huaxi Metropolis Daily has dispatched its own reporters to those areas most affected by the quake. An announcement in Friday’s edition, in fact, mentions that the paper has sent out an additional 13 reporters.
And today’s edition, which features an arresting black-and-white photograph of a child’s hand emerging from the rubble, seems to be a return to form for Huaxi Metropolis Daily, even as much of the front-page content remains Xinhua News Agency stuff.
Were the May 16-18 editions design hiccups? Nods to the provincial leadership? For now, we will leave the question open.
Meanwhile, we offer the following front-page images from Huaxi Metropolis Daily, in consecutive order from May 8 to May 19.
Readers may note that the space to the right of the masthead has been used consistently for content since the earthquake struck, a party-paper throwback. Content in this spot is as follows:

May 13 — a teaser from a report from Huaxi’s own reporter
May 14 — official news about top national leaders
May 15 — official news about top national leaders
May 16 — official news from Sichuan Daily about top Sichuan provincial leaders
May 17 — official notice from provincial leaders reported more or less verbatim by one of Huaxi‘s own reporters
May 18 — Xinhua News Agency release about top national leaders

[Posted by David Bandurski, May 19, 2008, 12:45pm HK]

By David Bandurski — In a scurry to live up to CMP’s promise to provide sideline analysis of Chinese media coverage of the Sichuan quake, we offer the following selections from Caijing magazine, one of China’s leading business and current affairs publications (now strongly online), and Xinhuanet, the online site of the official Xinhua News Agency. [Frontpage Image: Screenshot of Caijing online feature page on the Sichuan earthquake.]
Impressionistic and totally unscientific, these selections prove a point, admittedly, that hardly needs proving – that there are substantial differences in reporting style and focus between China’s commercial media and official party outfits like Xinhua and CCTV.
While noting obvious differences, we should also recognize that not all reports from Xinhua, CCTV, China National Radio, etcetera, have focused narrowly on political figures and their movements and emotions.
Having settled on these two sites, we selected the top two to three headlines appearing, in order of prominence, at 6:30pm Hong Kong time, May 15. This is what we came up with.

[ABOVE: Main page of Xinhua News Agency website as it appeared at 6:30pm on May 15.]

The top of Xinhua’s site was dominated by two articles in particular. The first, announced with a banner headline, was called, “72 Hours After the Quake, We Again Sound the Charge to Save Lives.” We’ll let the article’s lead and initial graphs speak for themselves.

According to earthquake experts, the first 72 hours after the disaster occurs is the golden period [in which lives are most likely to be saved]. After 72 hours, the chances of survival for those trapped among the rubble drop dramatically as time passes. But as Wen Jiabao, commander of the relief effort, has said, even if there’s only a one percent chance, we must give one-hundred percent of our effort. While the initial 72 hours have passed, the effort to save lives in the disaster area goes ahead with orderly anxiousness.
The Wenzhou earthquake has tugged at the heartstrings of the CCP. After the earthquake occurred, General Secretary Hu Jintao immediately issued important instructions, demanding that the injured be rescued quickly and the safety of lives in the disaster area be ensured. Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in the disaster area the same day, and he remains on the front lines directing the rescue and relief effort. Army, police, officials, firefighters, medical workers and all manner of relief personnel are getting into the disaster area despite the fact that roads are blocked and heavy equipment cannot make it in.
They climb onto dangerous structures, clear away the rubble, ever faced with the danger of aftershocks, doing everything in their power to save any life that can be saved. According to the latest reports, rescue workers saved 18,277 injured in the disaster area on May 14, bringing the total number of people saved to 64,725.
[The report continues at length, detailing the “tireless efforts” of the rescue teams.]

Below this piece, at the top of the news docket, was an article called, “Reading the Popular Sympathies (民生情怀) of the Premier from His Disaster Relief Journey”. It was essentially a play-by-play look at the actions of Wen Jiabao.

At 2:28pm on May 12 an earthquake measuring 7.8 occurred in Sichuan’s Wenchuan County. The earthquake’s waves were felt in 16 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, including Sichuan, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, Guizhou and Tibet.
After the earthquake occurred, the party and government responded at the first moment, and with General Secretary Hu Jintao’s approval, Premier Wen Jiabao moved with resolve to fly to the front lines, despite the imminent danger of aftershocks and the interruption of transportation and communication.
[A detailed description follows of Wen Jiabao’s movements. Who he consulted with. When his plane took off. When he arrived in Sichuan, etc.]

The home page at Caijing‘s website most prominently featured an editorial by Huang Puping (皇甫平) urging postponement of the Olympic torch relay so that all resources could be concentrated on the relief effort. Huang suggested, as an alternative, a symbolic relay of the torch directly from Wenchuan – the quake’s epicenter – to Beijing once China is through the initial phase of rescue and relief work.

[ABOVE: The main page of the Caijing website as it appeared at 6:30pm on May 15.]

The next piece under the “daily news” section was called, “Number of Dead in Sichuan Quake Approaches 20,000”. The article focused on the latest figures for the quake devastation as given by official sources at the provincial level.

The number of dead in Sichuan has risen to 19,500, the number of injured is put at around 100,000, and 13,000 people have been rescued. Rescue teams have still not entered 58 townships.

Zhao Jianfei (赵剑飞), Li Weiao (李微敖), Chengdu – According to information from the Sichuan Provincial People’s Government, the number of dead in the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province has reached 19,500, up from 5,000 reported yesterday (May 14). The rescue effort is tackling key problems, and the central government has sent an additional 90 helicopters.
At 5:22pm on May 15, the Information Office of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Government held a brief press conference to relay the latest developments in the Wenchuan earthquake disaster and the rescue and relief effort.
Sichuan’s vice-governor, Liu Chengyun (李成云), said that so far 19,500 people had died in the Wenchuan earthquake, an estimated 102,100 people had been injured, and 13,400 people had already been rescued . . .
[Subsequent paragraphs provide further provincial government details on the rescue effort, such as the need to provide maps and coordinates for the 58 townships that had yet to be reached by rescue teams.]

Finally, the second major “daily news” piece reported on the movement of disaster relief supplies into the affected areas. Called, “Why is it so hard to get relief resources into the hand of disaster victims”, the piece provided a rather in-depth look at how the disaster response process worked within the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The report also quotes a United Nations representative in Beijing.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs explains that the primary reason is congestion and blocking of transportation. Air drops are now beginning for those areas that cannot be reached.

Reporter Cao Haili (曹海丽) — In the two days since the Wenchuan earthquake disaster occurred, this correspondent has reported from the scene that disaster victims are in urgent need of relief supplies. But many disaster victims have still not received any help whatsoever. Concerning this problem, a spokesperson from the Information Office of the Ministry of Civil Affairs surnamed Cao explained to the Caijing reporter that this situation has occurred because “supply transports are unable to enter [the area].
According to this source, the Ministry of Civil Affairs put into effect a “Level-Two Response” pre-plan (“二级响应”预案) around 4pm on May 12, within two hours of the quake, deciding that the head of the ministry would organize an earthquake relief working group and travel directly to the disaster area [to oversee the effort].
This so-called “Level-Two Response” was made according to the stipulations of China’s January 11, 2006, “National Disaster Response Plan” (国家自然灾害救助应急预案), in which four response levels were established, Level One being the most severe.
Cao explained to Caijing that they issued a Level-Two response because after the earthquake occurred all communication lines were disrupted, and at the time “we had no idea what the situation was, or how serious it was.” But when the ministry reported to the State Council, Premier Wen Jiabao decided himself to lead the team to the disaster site, and the response was elevated to Level One.
According to the National Disaster Response Plan, the National Disaster Mitigation Committee of the Ministry of Civil Affairs (民政部下属的国家减灾委员会) is the body tasked with overall coordination of relief and rescue efforts in natural disaster situations.
[The article continues to describe in great detail how, “in theory”, responses to disasters are to be coordinated from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The subject then turns to international aid.]
In terms of aid supplies offered by the international community, Cao said these are also distributed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Green channels have already been opened at customs [to facilitate such aid]. Two shipments of supplies from Russia have already arrived in Chengdu. Of course, China is still primarily relying on domestic strength.
Ten countries have already donated aid money and supplies to China. Among international organizations, the United National Children’s Fund has already donated 300,000 U.S. dollars in aid. The United Nations Volunteers representative in Beijing, John Floretta told Caijing that a number of organizations under the U.N. are negotiating and making assessments with their Chinese counterparts in order to determine the scale and nature of relief work by U.N. bodies.
Floretta praised China’s government for its relief work so far, and said that while the U.N. was standing at the ready, he believed “it is not yet the time for the United Nations to send relief workers.” Unlike 30 years ago, he said, China today had sufficient financial resources and organizational ability to deal with this natural disaster. If foreign aid workers were let in now, this might cause distraction due to problems of communication and other obstacles, impacting the effectiveness of rescue and relief work.

[Posted by David Bandurski, May 16, 2008, 4:45pm HK]

By David Bandurski — As we head into the fourth day of earthquake coverage, media reporting still seems to be going on in an atmosphere of relative openness. There are no indications yet that authorities have called off the sniffer dogs of the commercial media — though we should bear in mind that various and sundry directives are coming down concerning coverage. If time allows, we’ll attempt a cursory comparison of earthquake coverage in various media. For now, here is CMP director Qian Gang‘s latest commentary on the crisis, which appears on the Caijing magazine website. [Homepage image: Screenshot of news coverage of the quake at Sohu.com].
We encourage readers, while they are at the Caijing site, to check out the magazine’s dispatches from the scene of the disaster.

“We Must Face the Disaster Victims with Great Tolerance”
By Qian Gang (钱钢)
I appeal to those commanding the relief effort: do not capriciously wield the crime of “destroying the disaster relief effort” (破坏抗震救灾), and employ milder means to resolve social strife in the disaster-affected area . . .
The relationship between the government and the people is brought dramatically to the forefront in cases of major disasters like this one. Power is entrusted by the people (权为民所授). The government’s overall planning for the disaster relief effort must be subordinated to the needs and interests of the people, and the government must accept the scrutiny of the people in the disaster area, even if they harshly find fault. As the wide-scale relief effort is underway, I call on [the government] to have a tolerant and merciful attitude toward those disaster victims who by great stroke of fortune escaped this major disaster. They must be treated kindly and respected.
I have no doubt that the government will spare no effort in saving those living among the rubble. Nor do I have any doubt that the government will put a strong emphasis on immediate needs such as food supplies, drinking water, tent shelters, clothing and blankets, and that these will arrive as the roads are cleared. This [effort] is being conveyed now, and will continue to be conveyed to the world through the lens of China Central Television. And in the following days, we will without fail see the glint of appreciative tears and hear heartfelt commendation of the party and the government.
However, those of us watching from outside can scarcely understand the depth of the pain those in the disaster area feel right now as they live among the wreckage. Wang Zhenyao (王振耀), head of the emergency relief division of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was right when he said that while our policies are about principles (我们的政策是原则性的), the sufferings of ordinary people are concrete. The people in the disaster area have seen their families broken and lives lost. Mothers have lost their children. These people face sufferings that beggar the imagination, and each family has a different story of tragedy, and its own psychological and spiritual burden . . .
Facing the turbulent emotions of the disaster victims, we cannot simply say, “The People’s Liberation Army has come! Long live the people’s army!” We must also say, “Our rescue teams were obstructed by hardships, and rescue teams should have arrived earlier!” The government should give ear to their quarrels and even their anger, and must patiently explain the facts of the situation facing them and their actions and decision-making. In the long, hard days ahead in the relief effort, it is possible that sentiment will stir among the masses of disaster victims, and the government must face this with understanding and tolerance.
The Chinese people, who have faced many disasters, have a tradition of forbearance and reticence. But in thirty years of economic reform . . . a consciousness of rights has awakened in the people. Dumb silence has given way to public clamor. The ordinary people have numerous and various demands, and these demands will sometimes be expressed in irrational ways. In the unsettled disaster area, the government must ensure social stability for the safety of the people. But specific moves and measures to ensure order must not take the shape of haughty efforts to control the population in the disaster area (决不应是对灾民居高临下的管控).
I appeal to those commanding the relief effort: do not capriciously wield the crime of “destroying the disaster relief effort”, and employ milder means to resolve social strife in the disaster-affected area. How precious is this word, “harmony”!

[Posted by David Bandurski, May 16, 2008, 10:15am HK]
TODAY’S NEWS:
“China OKs 4 Foreign Rescue Teams“, AP via Time.com, May 16, 2008
“School Collapse in Focus as China Buries Quake Dead“, Reuters, May 16, 2008
“Black-hearted” conmen bid for China quake charity“, Reuters, May 16, 2008
UNRELATED:
“CNN Apologizes to China Over Tibet Comments“, New York Times, May 16, 2008

By David Bandurski — CMP has confirmed with sources inside China’s media that the CCP’s Central Propaganda Department (中宣部) has issued “numerous” directives on coverage of the Sichuan earthquake, including a directive against “critical reporting” on the disaster. The general atmosphere for coverage, however, seems to remain relatively open. While media have been instructed to follow the lead of central party media – Xinhua News Agency, CCTV and company – regional commercial media can and are, for the moment, pursuing the story with intensity. [Homepage Image: Screenshot of earthquake coverage on the news page at Netease.]
We’ll summarize, analyze and translate that coverage as we can.
For now, though, we include the latest piece from CMP director Qian Gang, in which he urges leaders to move quickly to the next level of disaster relief planning, addressing the potential collateral effects of the earthquake.

“Science and Expertise: This is What our Brothers and Sisters in Need Hope For”
By Qian Gang (钱钢)
At last the rescue teams have entered Wenchuan. While the manpower and equipment reaching the disaster area still lack the scale and effectiveness needed, this is a crucial turning point. It means that rescue work has begun in earnest in the heart of the disaster area.
We have every reason to expect that after today, May 15, the rescue work in the earthquake-affected area will move rapidly into high gear. Saving lives, staving off epidemic disease and settling the disaster victims [will become the next priority] . . . as thousands throng into the cramped spaces available. As countless anxious souls are thrust together, new challenges will emerge: chaos, congestion, and instructions [from authorities] overlapping or in direct conflict.
What is most urgently needed now is a high level of crisis management ability (高水平的危机管理能力). Our nation has great strengths and resources it can rally together, but in preventing and minimizing disaster situations there has always been lack of coordination between different government agencies. We have no standing body (常设机构) tasked with organizing and coordinating disaster relief efforts. Even though we have teams to deal with the various aspects of an emergency situation, these are separate strands, not twisted into a single unified system. At this moment, we have various different disaster relief teams working on various complex disaster relief matters in a dynamic, rapidly changing situation, so that leaders operating and controlling the relief effort face immense challenges. And the level and efficiency of logistical command is a matter of life and death for tens of thousands.
Those in command must have a thoroughly clear macro-view of the “disaster area”. Disaster relief resources (and not just seismic waves) must radiate out from Wenchuan across the whole Chengdu plain, from the Chengdu plain to the Chuanyu (川渝) region [Chongqing and the Jialing River] to the central plains (中原), to the southeast. The entire disaster relief effort must become a tight, rationally managed systematic effort (科学严密的系统工程). Right now, rescuing survivors has already become the overriding mission. At the same time, I urge those in command to handle the following tasks:
To seek out hidden collateral problems (次生灾害的隐患点) that might arise with the greatest urgency possible. All water reservoirs, oil depots, petrol stations, chemical storage facilities, stores of military explosives, areas where landslides are an imminent risk, or where they have already backed up river currents, geological prospecting and exploration sites that might give off dangerous fumes, all must be sought out quickly, demarcated clearly and strictly controlled with the best possible resources.
Assemble the most experienced experts, and let them turn their expertise toward organizing air and land transport issues that are becoming more complicated by the day. At present, the disaster zone is a war zone. Right now, transport and dispatch orders should be regarded with the same seriousness as military orders.
Epidemic prevention teams should be sent out in force. Aircraft sprays should be carried out immediately to stave of disease. From here on out, strict standards must be enforced for the work of burying the dead.
Expert teams must be deployed immediately to begin repairs to the electrical and gas grid so crucial to cities and towns.
Our brothers and sisters in Hong Kong have already begun relief campaigns. A lot of people ask: How can we quickly reach the disaster area? How can we help the disaster victims? At the same time, people in Taiwan and overseas have made urgent offers of aid and assistance. I believe that we should put great stock in relief experts and medical experts from Hong Kong, Taiwan and other countries, and should seek to benefit from their expert opinions. [IHT: “Japan to send disaster relief team to China to join effort to rescue quake victims“].
Lastly, we should reconsider the persistent deployment of army soldiers [in rescue work]. A disaster of this magnitude cannot possibly be resolved in a space of a few weeks, and we should ready ourselves mentally and spiritually for a prolonged effort. We must have teams in reserve, and must allow time for exhausted soldiers doing rescue work on the front lines to recoup.
In a word, our hearts must be hot, but our minds must be cool. Big words and empty speeches, gaudy, showy and useless old habits, documents that parade their achievements to those on top, posing and dramatizing for the camera lens . . . At this moment, let this all pass away! Science and expertise is what our brothers and sisters in need hope for most.

[Posted by David Bandurski, May 15, 2008, 4:21pm HK]
MORE ON RELIEF DEVELOPMENTS:
“Phones coming back to service at China quake epicenter“, Xinhua, May 15, 2008
“Quake-hit China appeals for shovels“, AFP, May 15, 2008
First-hand Accounts of Relief Volunteer Workers, Barking at the Sun Blog, May 15, 2008
“China girl’s legs amputated to free her from rubble,” John Ruwitch, Reuters, May 15, 2008
“AP Video shows China quake’s first moments,” AP, May 15, 2008