Special Report: 1st Anniversary of Wenchuan
Earthquake
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A mother mourns for her child who was
killed in last year's May 12 earthquake in Beichuan, a hardest-hit area in
the disaster, in southwest China's Sichuan Province, on May 10, 2009.
Parents who lost their children came back to Beichuan as the first
anniversary of the disaster approaches. (Xinhua/Jiang
Hongjing)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
BEICHUAN,
Sichuan, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The quake-devastated Beichuan county seat in
southwest China's Sichuan Province reopened Sunday to residents to mourn the
dead ahead of the first anniversary of the disaster.
Some 21,000 people, or two-thirds of the county
seat's population, were dead or missing in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May
12 last year, making the county the worst hit in the quake.
The county will be open for four days till Wednesday.
Mourners brought flowers, incense and candles and set
off firecrackers in the ruins of former bus stations, county government
buildings and homes. The police distributed bottled water to the crowd for free.
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A mother mourns for her child who was
only 67 days old when killed in last year's May 12 earthquake in Beichuan,
the hardest-hit area in the disaster, in southwest China's Sichuan
Province, on May 10, 2009. Parents who lost their children came back to
Beichuan as the first anniversary of the disaster approaches.
(Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)
Photo Gallery>>> |
"I come here today to tell my mom that dad, sister
and I will live a better life. I miss her and I will often come to see her,"
said Zheng Chengrong, a student who returned from a vocational college in
Mianyang City and dedicated flowers to her mother.
Zheng's younger sister studies at Beichuan Middle
School, where more than 1,000 students were dead or missing in the quake.
Construction of the new school will begin on May 12.
"I wish my sister can study hard to enter the senior
high school. My mom would be very happy then if she knew that," Zheng said.
Cheng Piyi and Huang Guiqiong, a couple who lost
their daughter, brought their 16-month son to Beichuan.
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A mother mourns for her child who was
killed in last year's May 12 earthquake in Beichuan, a hardest-hit area in
the disaster, in southwest China's Sichuan Province, on May 10, 2009.
Parents who lost their children came back to Beichuan as the first
anniversary of the disaster approaches. (Xinhua/Jiang
Hongjing)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
"We wish she could see the flowers," Cheng said.
"When our son grows up, we will tell him that he had a sister who liked him very
much."
The town has been closed since May 20 last year. It
reopened to former residents during Qingming, or tomb-sweeping day, in April.
A new county seat will be built 23 km from the former
one. The new town is expected to have 58,000 residents in 2010 and 110,000 in
2020.
China launches public campaign to
counter disasters on quake
anniversary
BEIJING, May 10
(Xinhua) -- China needs stronger steps to promote public preparedness and early
warning systems for natural disasters, experts said ahead of the one-year
anniversary of the Wenchuan earthquake.
The government will release its first white paper on
disaster prevention and reduction on May 12, the country's first national
disaster prevention day. The day is set to commemorate the Sichuan earthquake
last May which left more than 80,000 people dead and missing in southwest China.
Full story
Late mother's day blessing:
quake-flattened Beichuan wails on
anniversary
BEICHUAN, Sichuan
Province, May 11 (Xinhua) -- To say "happy mother's day" to mom has become a
mission-impossible luxury for 45-year-old Hu Qian.
On last year's mother's day which fell on May 11, Hu's
husband reminded her to call and say hello to her mother but Hu thought of
visiting her mother the next day and did not say any blessing to her mom.Full story
Liu Xiang, Jackie Chan to visit
survivors as quake anniversary nears
CHENGDU, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese hurdler
Liu Xiang and movie icon Jackie Chan will visit student survivors in last year's
devastating May 12 earthquake in Sichuan Province on Monday as the first
anniversary of the disaster is approaching.
Liu, 25, arrived Sunday evening in
Sichuan provincial capital Chengdu. The gold medalist in the Athens Olympic
Games in 2004 will head for Ping'an Hope Primary School in Beichuan County, a
hardest-hit area in the quake, to attend a physical education class on Monday.Full story
A hard but happy life: quake survivors
build memorial to dead
spouses
GANGOU VILLAGE,
Sichuan, May 10 (Xinhua) -- With boards from dismantled temporary houses, Lin
Xingcong builds the walls for his new two-storey home. His wife, Li Yunxiang,
whom he married in January, helps.
"The wood is all my own to save money," says Lin, 48, who
lives in the forestry village of Gangou, Anxian County, one of the areas worst
hit by last year's May 12 earthquake in Sichuan Province. Full story
Chinese banks lend 200 bln yuan for
disaster relief, after-quake rebuilding
BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The China Banking
Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said here Saturday the country's banking industry
has issued loans worth of 205.36 billion yuan (30.2 billion U.S. dollars) to
Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces by March end for earthquake relief and
reconstruction.
A total of 168.99 billion yuan went to Sichuan
Province. Shaanxi and Gansu received 16.07 billion yuan and 20.31 billion yuan,
respectively, said the commission. Full story
China targets early completion of
post-quake rebuilding
BEIJING, May
8 (Xinhua) -- China had invested 360 billion yuan (about 52.7 billion U.S.
dollars) in post-earthquake reconstruction as of April, one-third of the planned
total, and hoped to complete all work within two years, a government official
said here Friday.
According to Mu Hong, vice director of China's
National Development and Reform Commission, most rebuilding of basic housing and
infrastructure had begun and shown considerable progress. Full story
China seeks speed-quality balance in
post-quake reconstruction
CHENGDU, April 24 (Xinhua) -- For Huang Zhongmo, a
farmer in Dacheng village of Mianzhu city whose life was devastated by a strong
8.0-magnitude earthquake in last May, the simple dream of lounging leisurely on
a sofa in his 70-square-meter house is being fulfilled.
The family of the 56-year-old man moved into a new
permanent building on Friday, almost two months ahead of schedule. He is one of
the ten million Sichuan people whose homes were devastated by the quake.
Full story
Beijing News: How should we
commemorate May 12th earthquake ?
BEIJING, May 7 -- The municipal government of
Southwest China's Chengdu city has released a report about the spending of
social donations after the May 12th earthquake last year.
The report says the city had received money donation,
equal to around 1 and half billion U.S. dollars by March. Full story
