Society

Reflections on Yushu earthquake

By Shao Yuqun (China Tibet Information Center)
Updated: 2010-04-30 15:06

On my last business day in Washington, I watched the news on TV in my hotel room that the devastating earthquake hit Yushu prefecture of China's Qinghai province with many people wounded. After I returned to China, I found the casualties during the earthquake were more severe than I had imagined.

The immediate relief work can be regarded as all-out efforts of all the Chinese people. Hu Jintao, Chief of the Communist Party of China, cut short on his trip to South America and paid a visit to the disaster-ravaged Yushu to comfort the local people as soon as he returned; Premier Wen Jiabao flew to the quake-hit zone to inspect the disaster relief work the first day after the earthquake; Related central departments concerned like the military, the armed police and the public security organized professional rescue teams to handle the relief work; many NGOs devoted themselves to delivering emergency supplies and medicine to the locals, some of whom even sacrificed their own lives. Local children went back to school thanks to the tent school set up for them within a few days. People from all over the country continued to make donations to the quake-stricken people with a common wish to reconstruct their homes at an early date.

Many have compared this earthquake with the one in Wenchuan. One of the striking differences is that Yushu is situated on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau where the relief workers have to face the challenge of severe altitude sickness. I have been to the Plateau and had personal experience of almost being suffocated by the heavy wind at the altitude of 4,000 meters above the sea level; therefore, it is easier for me to understand the difficulties faced by the rescue workers. I was very sad when I saw that some of them had to withdraw from the quake-ravaged area. To my relief, related departments were very concerned about this situation and paid attention to providing better treatment to the rescuers and conducted the rescue work in a more humanitarian manner.

It is regretful that the two earthquakes share one common point. That is, there have been some rumors about the relief work organized by the Chinese government and the participation of non-governmental organizations by some people in the world in an unfriendly attitude. It happened during both the earthquake in Yushu and Wenchuan. Some complained that the victims could only fight for the relief supplies; some others criticized that the quake-affected people were not well treated; and some even said the whole relief work was in chaos.

I think that the Chinese government and its people are always open-minded, who could accept the criticism against us from the outside world including the overall development of the country and the distribution of the relief supplies because we believe good advice can help us make progress. However, it is hard for us to welcome the so-called "riticism and suggestions" aiming to provoking disagreement and making confusion. It is shameful to get satisfaction on the suffering of the victims to fulfill his own political purpose.