Posted on 05/14/2008 8:18:19 AM PDT by robertvance
“I haven’t been able to sleep,” explained a very tired looking student to me in class today. “One of my best friends is attending university near Mianyang and we have so far been unable to get in contact with her. We don’t think she made it.” Thousands of people throughout China are also going without sleep as they desperately wait for information about their friends and loved ones in Sichuan Province. Some cities in Sichuan, such as Wenchuan and Mianyang, have been completely cut off from the rest of China in the wake of the deadly earthquake on Monday. Only in the last few hours have soldiers been able to reach these areas and provide assistance to survivors. For the large numbers of Chinese people who have family and friends in the region, the waiting game is one of desperation and slim hopes.
Some Chinese people have received good news from the West. A teacher in my school today was overjoyed to hear that although their house was flattened by the earthquake, her parents escaped serious injury. Other students were relieved to have heard from close friends and family members who made contact with them this morning. In my school today, there was a mixture of happy and worried faces.
The little platform in front of the television seemed to be a popular gathering spot today. Students are usually only allowed to watch CCTV 9 at the school in order to improve their English but yesterday and today, the TV has been tuned to whatever channel is carrying coverage of the earthquake. Many students have sat in stunned silence as they watch coverage that unlike past disasters, has been relatively raw and unfiltered. The state controlled media in China has provided up-to-the-date casualty reports that seem to reflect reality as well as footage that helps the world to understand the grave scope of the disaster. While the information and images that are being broadcast are generally depressing, the in-depth coverage helps people thousands of kilometers away to feel connected to what is taking place in Sichuan Province.
For many, this torturous waiting game may last for a long time. How will they cope with their worry? Some are turning to prayer although they do not know to whom they are praying. Others are turning to each other for comfort and trying to go about their daily activities. Just like my student today who is waiting for news about her best friend. She did not sleep last night yet she was in my English class this afternoon. She wanted to be there. She wanted to talk to someone.
Around the world, people are praying for the rescuers and survivors. For a few days at least, the Olympics have moved into the shadows and the world’s attention is focused on the tragedy in Sichuan Province. Even the Chinese government has seemed to ‘forget’ about the 2008 games for the time being. Their transparency on the events that are occurring in Sichuan and their willingness to accept foreign aid may signal a new chapter in the way in which the Communist Party rules China. So far, it would seem that the Communist Party is committed to rescuing the survivors and aiding those who are in distress. Let us hope that these strong efforts continue and that as many lives can be saved as is possible in the precious days, minutes, and hours that remain before it is too late.
Yeah, all the petty whining about the admittedly bad situation in Tibet seems pretty insignificant now. Comparing the population size of the US and China, they’re way past our 9/11 loss of life, and it looks like they’ve just scratched the surface. It’s pretty tragic no matter how you look at it.
welcome to FR “robert”
i am from sichuan.but ,now i am work in shanghai.
when i hear it,i am very cry.it’s very sadly in sichuan.
but,we are saw love and friendship,country give them help and love,i see all army is brave,so i think ,god is bless our.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1315944,00.html
I am still not clearly understanding how so many young people from China have found this conservative political discussion board. Please be so kind as to tell how you found this web site.
My daughter is working in Anhui province and said they didn't even feel the quake. But all China is working to respond.
I remember how good it felt to see the roads into Kobe clogged with trucks carrying relief supplies after our big quake there in 1995.
There is no question that the unrest in Tibet has been put on the ‘backburner’ temporarily. Up until Monday afternoon, Tibet and the Olympics was all anyone wanted to talk about in this area. I haven’t heard anyone mention Tibet since Monday and the only discussion about the Olympics centers around whether or not the recently constructed buildings in Beijing were damaged by the earthquake.
May the LORD comfort those who are hurting.
You’d be surprised...;) China’s highly capitalistic and actually quite conservative. As it continues opening up politically you’ll see it be quite a staunch conservative force (in terms of economics and social conservatism).
The Great Firewall of China really isn’t all that great, nor much of a firewall. Those that want to learn more about the US often join US forums, and political forums seem to be popular (based upon conversations I’ve had), especially as a tool to learn to read and write English.
I say the more that come and join us, the better!
“...so many young people from China have found this conservative political discussion board.”
Curious ain’t it? However, if FR can get 0.0001% of the Chinese people to join, and each donates 10 cents, think of the fund raising opportunity.
Typical capitalist! :-)
We are back up on Drudge after years of not being; seems they may have been attracted to the name “freerepublic.com”
Good thinking! LOL.
Chinese has pretty much unfettered access to major western media / political / news forums (one interesting aspect of Chinese censorship - it’s more focused on monitoring access to Chinese internal sites as well as some overseas Chinese language sites, but not external non-Chinese sites).
Most English literate Chinese people (and that’s growing by a lot these days, pretty much anyone who is college educated, and even more since English classes are now mandatory from 5th grade onward) are keenly aware and interested in how the West sees China and how news about China are reported and discussed in the West.
just a haphazard
I spent a month living and working in Chengdu in the 1980s.
I remember a LOT of people there. LOTS of them. The city was more crowded than New York on the streets at any given time of the day.
Our hearts go out to the people affected there.
Good luck
Welcome to Free Republic. Thank you for posting the interesting article on the recovery efforts and reactions of students in China.
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