Thank you!

We sympathize the Chinses people who suffered in the earthquake.

Thank you for the post.

Seeing disaster stories such as this makes one's heart sink. I just wish I could do more to help. Chinese people are surviors, they have overcome difficult situations throughout history, may it be polictical or natural ones, they will rebuild.

Hi Jimmy,
Thanks for sending us a blog-report of your investigative trip
of the earthquake devastated areas in Sichuan province.

Compared with the Tangshan earthquake in the late 70's , I noticed that this time, in the case of this Sichuan earthquake, there was not much activities by the 'lao bai xing ' involving the traditional Chinese early warning systems that forecast the eventuality of an earthquake or earthquake tremors. I remember that after the Tangshan earthquake , we were told to leave our dormitory buildings and live outside in makeshift tents. During those times, we were putting up soft drink bottles upside down on concrete pavements which would tumble if there was an aftershock or 'yu zhen'.

I was talking over the phone to a classmate in Shanxi province a week ago, who told me that thousands of frogs 'qing wa' came out of the streets in some parts of Sichuan province days before the 7.9 degrees earthquake in Sichuan province. A series of articles featuring the earthquake in Wenquan county in the science net revealed that there
is a debate unfolding among scientists in China on what attitude to take towards some astronomical events i.e. alignment of the moon, sun and earth vis-a-vis the causation of the earthquake http://www.sciencenet.cn/news/sub2.aspx?id=127

Despite the hardships that the people in the Sichuan area are suffering, the national efforts to aid Wenchuan and surrounding towns to recover quickly are heart-lifting, from rebuilding houses with government support to reestablishing broken relations with Phone-in for Peace. In Chinese and American media, I've read with concern for the schoolchildren who lost their friends, teachers and classrooms. The China Youth Development Foundation has stated that it will 90% of earthquake recovery donations to building 50 temporary schools before the start of the summer semester. I hope that those schools will help the local students pick up and continue their education from where they left off, and restore the glories of such schools as Xuankou Middle.

Thanks Jaime.

I send my sympathies

Thanks Jimmy for the update. I was in Shanghai with 20 students in our Global Partners MBA program on a company visit when the earthquake hit. It was the second day of our 2-week field study in China. We proceeded to watch up close the extent of the tragedy unfold . . . and the on-going impact it made on the students has been significant, and very real. I will share the blog with all my students I think this is a global community helping one another.

I enjoyed reading your blog. I was in Sichuan in the first week after earthquake. When I returned, I felt life has to continue and it does. Now Chengdu people are accustomed to aftershocks. many funny short massages are created about life in aftershocks.

jimi. thank you for this hard, but thorough snapshot of what's happening in chengdu. in the weeks since the heartbreaking events that happened there, i've thought about the warm, friendly people there and the good times (though brief) i enjoyed in my favorite chinese city. it's been encouraging to hear the stories that demonstrate both a national and local commitment to helping chengdu recover and rebuild.

Thanks for your post. We need news like this, without hatred or political bias.

The Chinese people and their civilization go back centuries. They have endured terrible calamities and hardships, both political and natural but they possess that resilience and stamina that few nations can boast of. The recent terrible tragedy is in some ways a blessing (in disguise). It has caused the once-secretive and less-transparent Communist government to pause and take a hard look at itself. The days of secrecy, lack of transparency, political nepotism are slowly being eroded, speeded up by the recent earthquake.

For Chinese people and the Chinese government in particular this tragic calamity is a threshhold towards a better life and future for the Chinese people. Top be accepted among the free nations of the world the Chinese government needs to unshackle itself from age-long communistic ideology and gradually move towards a more democratic and humane type of governance.

The positive and unexpected response by the Chinese government and its top leadership towards the recent tragedy shows that China IS moving forwards in the right direction and this is in stark contrast to countries like Myanmar and North Korea where the governments care little for their own people. In the long run these dictcatorships will eventually collapse, like ALL dictatorships have in the past.

The time has come for the world body to put in place legislation where governments are accountable to the people they covern. If we can put individuals on trial at the International Court of Justice in the Hague for crimes against humanity, then why not put governments on trial too, for neglecting their suffering millions who have been neglected after suffering natural calamities, just because these governments refuse to let in humanitarian aid.

To the millions of Chinese earthquake victims who have lost loved ones, possessions and other losses, I wish and pray your pain and loss will eventually lessen. If you can survive centuries of hardship, calamities and also successes, I don't see why you cannot overcome the recent natural disaster.

I was in the area for a couple days delivering relief supplies and then in a refugee camp for 5 days. It was incredible watching how people were uniting and trying to help each other. Villages stood together when all of their homes crumbled. Villages hiked together for hours through mountains to get or to refuge camps. Strangers helped strangers put up tents, dig trenches for make-shift toliet pits, camps were kept clean, and no one stole anything from anyone. No looting. No rape. No murders. Policeman in the worst hit areas don't even need to carry a baton – they have the people's respect. The army got the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs and they did them with amazing speed and courage. And never did I hear a complaint – not even one. Did they have everything they needed all the time – not everyone. But they had an attitude of getting through the calamity rather than just waiting for someone else to do everything for them. I went to a refuge camp but it was me who was truely inspired. You never forget children running out to thank the army unit that had just got back from finding and burying bodies. I'll also never forget some of the laughter I heard and heart-warming smiles from people who had never seen a foreigner before in their lives. One boy lost both parents just days beforehand- and with the encouragement of other kids, he wanted to play and start the road to recovery. Grieve – yes. All in the earthquake grieve, but no one wallows. People are distraught but they certainly do persevere. Even those who can't make it to the camps and still live under tarps, they burn the wood from their fallen homes to make a hot meal...for themselves and their neighbors. The survivors here are amazing people and have acted with unusual stamina, courage, perseverance and grace. Bravo. They are amazing.

isn't it good for the world to know about your sufferings, for the world to sympathize and send aid in materials and people, now would'nt it be nice if you could let that happen for the people of tibet

International Communication.
With the advent of communist party members into the upper reaches of the government of China, the people of both the United Kingdom and the United States now face a potential enrmy which has, due to the massive population of China, a far greater threat than the one that was overcome during world war two.
Due to the fact tht America's military is currently using the majority of it's resources in the current war in Iraq and also due to the massive population of china, a traditional military response would be totally ineffective.
Both the countries of the United Kingdom and the United States have many people of Chinese origin legally living in them now, running Chinese restaraunts and various other businesses. The ownersof these businesses could legally transfer the money that has been earned in their businesses and send it back to the communist insurgents that are now in China. That money could then be used by the communist party members that have infiltrated the Chinese government to share their ideological viewpoint with the communists in North Korea, so the problem really does currently exist.
A logical soloution to the problem is for the people who currently control CNN to share rthe news of this potential threat by using it's television and internet connections that it has throughout the world so that a massive number of peoplre would be made aware of this disconcerting situation.

Thank you, Jaime.

Dear Reader,

My Name is Peter Fick, and I had a revelation last night:

In order to get out the speculation in the oil market, why doesn't Congress declare a "week off of work" holiday (where noone is allowed to lose their job over it)? Shut down the gas stations, have americans stay at home (just for a week), close the airports and transportation, and have just the emergency response vehicles operating. This might be a pain to American, but it will dump our daily oil use (times 7) into the market, which is way more than were saving by not filling the strategic reserves.

If this was even threatened by Congress, speculation would be drastically reduced (under $100 a barrel). If it was put into play, oil will be $60 a barrel or less. This is stand up or shut up time, and we would really get to see how effective Congress really is, what the President is really up to, how fast speculators run, and how to get us back to the supply/demand fundamentals.

Oh Yea, Go Barack 2008!!!

Thanks for reporting this. Chinese people are resilient because they have been through many thousands of years of history.

Frank Malone, sounds like you want WWIII instead of peace. I believe it's people like you who are culpable for initiating problems in the world since antediluvian time.

Jimi,
Thank you for sharing your first-hand observations of the tragic earthquake and its victims. Your very balanced and objective reporting delivers an ultimately positive message about China, the resilience of its people and the government's reaction and response. But nothing can really diminish theunimaginable loss of life and destruction that the people of Sichuan have experienced and continue to endure. It is a tragedy that all of the world shares.
Thank you.
Peter

John Atella, thanks for the first-hand report. As someone who originally came from China, I can picture in my head every word you said.

Frank Malone, you are very uninformed. First, the party members do not need to "infiltrate" the Chinese government. One has to be a party member in the fist place to hold any significant position in the government.

Second, the party and the government is changing for the better. They have tried very hard to earn their legitimacy by truly care for the people. I don't think they have either the time or the desire to dominate the world.

As for oversea Chinese (I am one of them), they help sending back the experiences of living in democracies and what it meant to have political freedom. They help push China's political reform, which will lead to more understanding and cooperation between China and the West.

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself ."

RE: U.S. life expectancy still trails 30 countries!

For a country that professess to be the world's only Superpower and the supposed 'best at everything'.......This report should be a BIG eye-opener!

Also, it's worth mentioning that the USA has approx 48 million citizens without any health insurance!! That's 16% of it's Citizenary! Again, hardly a fact to be proud of!!

Instead of wasting Billions and Billions of $$$$ of tax payers money, interfering in other countries and their affairs, and generally creating military mayhem around the world.....We could better use these funds to take care of all the problems on our own Turf!!

Thank you for this most thoughtful, vivid and sympathetic report from the field. The earthquake centered in Sichuan was a massive tragedy that had, nonetheless, a positive aspect – it brought together people in China and around the world in sympathy and action to help those who suffered.
-John

What a wonderful update on the situation in the quake zone. My heart goes out to the survivors and the loss that they are dealing with. Thanks for a report that focuses on the people and their humanity. This is what we need to bridge the gap between east & west, red & blue, black & white... to realize that we are all human and start having empathy for our neighbors regardless if they are next door or on the other side of the planet. Think about that Frank Malone.

Thanks, Jimi, for sharing your firsthand observations of the Sichuan earthquake. Reading them brought back frightening memories of the 1985 massive earthquake in Mexico City (8.1 on the Richter scale), where I was residing at the time, after living in Beijing for 2 years. I'm in Manila right now with Jim for the 50th anniversary of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards.

Why is the world turning there eyes off from the zimbawe.The Current situation is a big shame to the world .why should men like the mugabes still remain in office instead of facing the war crime tribunal for the death of zimbawes.

Do the world have to wait until the condition turns to somali to arrest that beast?I felt really bad that AU could not reach a compromise about what to do with mugabe.

The question of power share should not be discussed at any level because such talk will encorage other African leaders who share the mugabe Dream of ruling for life.(that is why some african leaders dont want to be vocal)

The world should condem and find better ways of get that animal out of power before that country turns into a battle field.Sanctions only hurt the average zimbawe citizen not the beast.

The united Nation should try everything to get him to justice.

Am an African and i must say that the time have come when the world should open there eyes on what is happenning in Africa unless some people from the west are benefiting from it.

We people are enjoying Olympic, iPhone, movies and lot more entertainment but have we ever notices about the people who are suffering the heavy flood in Bihar state of India Please visit, your view/comment will be appreciated.