MkGenie Polaris

Zahra Ali of the British Red Cross directs PLA troops who are helping set up the Red Cross base camp in Jiulong town. NGO team leaders told China.org.cn that cooperation with the authorities has been excellent.

By John Sexton
China.org.cn correspondent reporting from Sichuan
Additional reporting by Keen Zhang

One month after the May 12 earthquake, China.org.cn visited Jiulong, a township in Mianzhu, Sichuan, and found, amid appalling devastation and tragedy, people pulling together to rebuild their communities with massive assistance from government, NGOs, and individual volunteers.

Jiulong is the main township administering forty or so small farming communities scattered across flat rice-growing land at the foot of the Longmen mountains; it is just 30 kilometers from the earthquake epicenter Wenchuan.

The town was almost completely leveled, and hundreds of its residents killed, on May 12. Only a few, mainly modern buildings are still standing; almost all the older houses crumbled into piles of bricks. Many survivors are living in tents near to, or sometimes within, the wreckage of their former homes, unwilling to leave their personal belongings, or maybe from a personal sense of belonging.

Jiulong exemplifies many familiar aspects of the Sichuan earthquake story. There was a horrific school collapse in which at least 150 primary school children were killed. The ruins of the school, with dozens of large white wreaths, and small table-shrines carrying children's toys, are a shocking and harrowing sight. Parents have hung banners proclaiming the collapse of the building was not a natural disaster but a man-made tragedy caused by shoddy construction. The authorities, for their part, have not attempted to remove the banners.

Our experience in Jiulong reflected the halting and contradictory steps, seen since May 12, towards greater media openness. When we arrived at Jiulong, in convoy with the International Red Cross, we were stopped by police and told "No interviews, no photos." But once inside the town we found a Spanish film crew working openly. One of the leaders of the Red Cross base camp, also from Spain, told us "If you have any problems with interviews and so on, just call me. The police chief is my friend; I have lunch with him every day."

There are cases of terrible hardship. As we toured the town with the International Red Cross, we were stopped by Huang Dexiu, an elderly lady who pleaded with us to help her care for her husband, Fu Qingyou, an 82-year-old PLA veteran, wounded almost 60 years ago in the Korean War.

"I don't care whether I live or die, but who will look after him? Since the earthquake he hasn't been able to do anything for himself. I even have to take him to the toilet. A tank shell couldn't kill him but the earthquake has done for him. We're coming towards the end of our lives, and now this. I don't know what to do." Her husband sat nearby staring blankly into space, apparently unaware of his surroundings. We all felt helpless, even the capable, can-do Red Cross workers.

The 82 year old People's Liberation Army veteran Fu Qingyou outside his wrecked home. Mr. Fu was wounded by a tank shell in the Korean War nearly 60 years ago, but until the earthquake had been in relatively good health. Since May 12 he has not spoken a word or walked a step unaided. His wife, Huang Dexiu, who is in her 70s, told us she did not know how she would cope with caring for him.

But amid all of the pain and the terrible loss and waste, Jiulong is an example, much like the successful draining of the Tangjiashan quake lake, of how prompt, effective action can avert the worst outcomes.

Despite fears of water pollution there has been no post-disaster epidemic. Doctors at a field hospital supplied by the city of Tangshan, scene of an even more devastating earthquake in 1976, are mainly treating people who have injured their ankles clambering through the rubble, or have been bitten by the town's dogs, which were apparently driven mad by the earthquake. They told us they were thinking of shutting up shop and moving the hospital to another town with more urgent need of their assistance.

The government has mounted a massive relief and reconstruction effort in the area. What looks to me like a division of the PLA Navy is erecting hundreds of prefabricated dwellings just outside the town. The PLA is also willingly pitching in to help the relief work of both Chinese and international NGOs. When we arrived at the base camp of the International Red Cross, we found dozens of troops helping unload supplies of prefabricated latrines and water purification equipment.

Overseas NGOs, particularly the Red Cross, have played a major role supplementing and plugging the gaps in the government relief effort. And without exception, the NGO staffers we spoke to were full of praise both for the government's relief and reconstruction work, and for the level of cooperation NGOs were receiving from at every level. Jaime Bara, leader of the Spanish Red Cross team in Jiulong, a veteran of many overseas missions, starting with Rwanda in 1994, told us he had never seen such a level of cooperation from the authorities in any other country. My judgment, for what it is worth, is that his words were heartfelt, not diplomat-speak.

One of the most impressive aspects of the Sichuan crisis, and perhaps most significant for Chinese society in the longer term, has been the mobilization of tens of thousands of civilian volunteers from all over China. In the immediate aftermath of May 12, the Chengdu office of the Chinese Red Cross was besieged by people demanding to be given, something, anything to do. Thousands made their own way to Sichuan as individuals, or with family, friends and ad hoc groups.

The ruins of Jiulong primary school, in which 150 children died. In the foreground is a small table carrying some of the children's toys. The banner reads "We demand justice for the children killed by a dangerous building".

Those with cars simply loaded up with supplies and drove there. Ina Bluemel, leader of the British Red Cross team in Jiulong, told us the volunteers were extremely committed and capable, willing to work almost continuously without a break, refused offers of payment and food, and were often able to contribute specialized skills.

The Red Cross translator Wei Gang is an example. Around 30 years old, Wei Gang straddles China's two worlds of the rich, urban East and the poor, rural West. His parents are from Jiulong so he speaks the local dialect perfectly. But he has a doctorate from Oxford, and in normal times he is a maths professor at Shandong University. Fluent and articulate in English, he told me he set off for Sichuan immediately after May 12, has been there ever since, and has no plans to leave any time soon.

It is hard to believe we are not yet halfway through 2008. The year started with freak snowstorms in southern China that killed dozens, disrupted exports and caused Spring Festival chaos. March saw the rioting in Tibet; then the disastrous international leg of the Olympic torch relay, in response to which, a defensive, edgy, and occasionally unpleasant kind of nationalism took shape both inside China and among the Chinese overseas.

But earthquake reconstruction has given the Chinese people a positive cause around which they have enthusiastically united; at the same time they have warmly welcomed generous assistance from overseas. The very same Western media that criticized China during the torch relay are now praising to the skies the government's relief and reconstruction work. Just possibly, by the time the Olympics come around, despite the shadow cast by May 12, 2008 will have given the Chinese people something they feel able to celebrate.

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Tiger, lions not yet saved due to valley climate 

The Happy Valley park is an alpine scenic spot in Hongbai Town, Shifang City. After the earthquake on May 12 the road was blocked, and there has since been a power blackout.

By Keen Zhang

The plan to rescue one endangered tiger and two lions from a Shifang wild animal park was postponed due to bad weather, with one military helicopter almost downed in southwest China's Sichuan Province yesterday, local media reported.

Despite careful preparation, the rescue effort did not go smoothly. Due to bad weather in the valley, the first planned rescue was postponed. A new attempt will be made today, Ge Yujin, an Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff, told the Tianfu Morning Post.

Three white lions and two white tigers had been trapped in the park since the May 12 quake. Breeders had trekked into the valley on June 5, bringing beef to feed the bony and starving animals. Two days ago a 2-year-old tiger was shot dead by soldiers to protect the safety of quake survivors, while another white lion has already starved to death. It is hoped to transport the remaining two white lions and one white tiger to the Bifengxia Zoo in Ya'an City.

However, a Super Puma copter heading to Shifang City to evacuate the animals made a forced landing at 12:35 PM yesterday when it encountered mechanical problems. Three people were injured, one critically, said an official with the Shifang Municipal Quake Relief and Rescue Headquarters when speaking to Xinhua News Agency.

The injured were evacuated by another helicopter. A preliminary report had indicated that no one was injured in the accident. The chopper had 13 crew and quake relief staff aboard when the accident happened. The aircraft belongs to Citic Offshore Helicopter Co. Ltd.

The Deyang Municipal Government this week agreed with the airborne force to airlift the animals out of the Happy Valley Park. Over 50 soldiers and rescuers were sent into the valley by helicopter yesterday while a temporary platform in a former parking lot of the resort was also set up for copter landing.

The white tiger is still alive, as well as two lions.

At 9:00 AM yesterday morning, the chopper took off from Guanghan City's airport. A Bifengxia Zoo's transport vehicle was standing by at the airport with a special veterinary team led by the zoo chief. According to the plan, the two lions would be carried out first by noon.

30 soldiers and forest rangers in the valley already had the two lions and the tiger in cages under only a small dose of narcotics. The three cages had been sent in at 5:00 PM on June 10.

Even though the lions were less than 1 kilometer away from the platform, it would take almost 3 hours for the rescuers to hand-carry the animals in their cages, weighing hundreds of kilograms, trekking along the mudslide-damaged road.

At about 4 PM the three cages reached the platform.

However, Lu Erxue, the chief of the quake relief center of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), said due to the bad and suddenly-changing weather, and the steep, narrow and complicated terrain in the valley, yesterday's rescue efforts failed.

Several choppers tried to make their way from Guanghan airport to the park during the afternoon, but most had to return, and one had to carry out a forced landing.

A chopper is taking off from Guanghan City's airport to rescue two lions and a tiger.

At 7:00 PM, 2 air force soldiers, 5 breeders and 2 reporters in the valley were temporarily back in Guanghan. The rescue effort is due to continue today. Wangguan Group, the parent company of the park, said they have reached a preliminary agreement with the International Fund for Animal Welfare to help the tiger and lions after they are evacuated.

The Happy Valley park is an alpine scenic spot and an entertainment park in Hongbai Town, Shifang City, attracting tourists and explorers. After the earthquake on May 12 the road was blocked, and there has since been a power blackout.

In the quake relief effort, one chopper has already tragically crashed. All 18 people on board, five crew members and 13 injured civilians, died in the accident. The bodies were recovered on Tuesday at the crash site near the epicenter town of Yingxiu after a 12-day search, and the black box voice recorder was found Wednesday.

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Courts restart trials in quake-areas

While many local Court Houses were damaged or collapsed in the major Sichuan earthquake on May 12, the local justice system has restarted operations again among the ruins, the Legal Daily reported.

 Court Tents have already been set up in front of damaged Court Houses. "It may be that these working conditions will last for a considerable time, but our judges believe we can maintain fair and efficient Court proceedings," said Tan Yin, a spokesman with the Deyang Intermediate People's Court.

Sun Shanchang, a director of Mianyang Intermediate People's Court, said their Court and the Court of Anxian, one of the city's counties, will provide legal assistance to Beichuan Court if they need more specialists. Anxian Court resumed operation as early as May 19, before aftershocks had ceased.

On May 30, Hanwang Court and Mianzhu Court resumed operation in tents. Tan Yin said Shifang City's Yinfeng Township Court restarted operation as early as the day after the earthquake. So far, it has accepted 6 cases, closed 8 cases, sent 19 cases to higher Courts, and provided legal consultation for over 1,000 people.

In Deyang City, to June 3, 30 cases had been accepted, 69 had proceeded to trial, 53 had been held over and 72 were closed. By June 6, 148 had been closed, enforcing orders of over 91.50 million yuan.

On May 14, a middle-aged woman came to Shifang Court's tent to say that her husband was in custody in Shifang City's jail for causing traffic casualties. She said her house had collapsed, although the elderly and the children escaped death, but that they had had nothing to eat for days. Holding that her husband did not pose a genuine social threat, the Court quickly agreed to release him on bail.

On June 3, a man named Mao Fanglin was sentenced to 7½ years imprisonment and a 20,000 yuan fine for stealing in quake-areas at the tent Court in Shifang. He was arrested on May 17. This was a first post-quake case in which Shifang Court wanted to show that maintaining social order and fighting crime are a key priority at this time.

Several days ago Sichuan Province Superior Court issued an order asking all Courts in Sichuan to pay special attention to cases relevant to the earthquake, and make sure all such cases are handled in a timely and effective manner.

Seven tents standing at the north side of Anxian's driving school accommodate Beichuan's temporary Court. Only 16 of 44 staff survived the earthquake, among whom 3 were severely injured. The Court House collapsed, and the office equipment and case files were all destroyed.

Li Zhijun, the vice president of Beichuan Court said that before the earthquake, there were several hundred cases outstanding. For now, the most difficult task is to deal with various procedural issues resulting from the quake disaster.

"Over 7,000 people in Beichuan were killed or are missing in the earthquake," Li said, "This is going to be huge problem because there are many civil consequences. Issues relating to bank deposits, property, and contract will have to be dealt with by Court in accordance with determined legal procedures.

"We'll have 200 to 300 cases a year. We can overcome the current difficulties and resume operations", Li said confidently. Nine judges have already started work in the tents.

(China.org.cn June 12, 2008)