Posted By: Tian Qingyou @ 05/27/2008 6:29:29 AM
Comment: NOw when looking back the Tiananmen Square Incident in1989, I think most Chinese would regard what the government did was correct in the incident that was quite magnified by the western medias that tend to make sensational stories so as to attract eyeballs. Without the what the west- called 'the supression" China would have been in turmoil and there wouldn't have been the succeeding big-stride economic development in the country. We should own that one good thing derived from the Incident; the party and the government were alerted on corruption and the dangers facing them. They found the right track, learned the lesson,corrected the mistaks and moved forward. After all, we should attribute what we have achieved to the snap decision on the Incident by the central government. Without the move China could have been splitted, which is what the west is eager to see just as the split of Soviet Union. Not long ago trying to split Tibet was directed and piece by piece cut- away from China is all the west intend to do. The present younger generation is maturer than that of 1980s' that tended to follow the west blindly. They are more critical on what
they see instead of being care-free. These youngsters are nick-named Post-80s(refer to their birth after1980) that are the hope of China's tomorrow. Most of the people at the forefront of the quake relief and rescue work in sichuan are them, the new rising stars.
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Much of it, however, is more informal, taking the form of collections at factories or colleges, or friends who set up convoys to drive food to pickup points. There is even a group of youngsters with homemade signs flagging down cars trying to hitch a ride to deliver clothes and food. At one point Cao's forever-shrilling mobile phone brings news from a friend at a power station in Shaanxi province. The workforce there wants to donate money and medication. DEC's Fujian branch has sent medicines too.
This community response has arisen because of the media openness that followed the quake. "In the old times we didn't even know when bad things happened," says Cao. "Bringing out information plays a great role in modern society. We should be open and truthful and stop the rumors."
The factory site in Hanwang was one of those visited by Premier Wen Jiabao during his tour of the disaster zone. Security there is tight; a company spokesman who gave his name only as Liu said no estimates of dead or missing were available, but there were 3,000 rescue workers. At least 10 senior engineers were meeting in the factory when the quake hit, according to Red Cross medic Deng Zhigang, 36, who worked to rescue them. Four were saved. They were from the turbine blades section, according to another source who did not wish to be named talking about the company. Dongfang Turbine Factory makes power station turbines and cooperates on nuclear power station equipment with GE Alstom, according to Cao. Siemens and Toshiba are also clients. The plant stands on steep ground, its site a legacy of Mao's policy of hiding important engineering plants in Sichuan's mountains during the cold war era. According to Liu small earthquakes are common; there's an aftershock as he speaks.
Cao has nothing but praise for the premier's visit ("The government is close to the people and feels their pain") and the speed and frankness of the government's response. "The central government and the local government responded very fast, and the news is open and out, and this is good for Chinese society," he says. That kind of praise is good for the government, but it does carry some long-term risks for China's Communist rulers. The community response has shown residents that the people have power of their own—and they could mobilize further if there are are any delays, flaws, or corruption in the relief effort.
For now, though, Cao has more immediate concerns. He worries how long the homeless can endure their stay under the tarpaulins. "It's uncertain how long they'll have to stay [in Deyang]," he says. "Maybe half a year, maybe a year." For them the earthquake aftershocks aren't likely to end anytime soon.
© 2008
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