'In the past [after disasters], the total amount of donations to the Ministry of Civil Affairs was less than 100 million yuan [HK$114 million]. But we received 3.5 billion yuan in donations this time. It is a lot of work.'

Many people called for the government and charity organisations, such as the Red Cross, to allow independent parties to help monitor the flow of funds.

Mr Wang conceded the idea had crossed his mind. 'But there were many logistical problems because so much money had suddenly poured in. Our procedures could not keep up [with the amount of donations].'

Computer giant IBM provided a free software program designed for disaster relief to enable tracking of victims and flow of donations.

The software was already in use, Mr Wang said, but IBM was modifying it for the specific needs of the ministry. 'When the technology is ready, maybe in the future we can invite a third party, such as journalists, to witness how the money is spent,' he said, adding that he hoped other charities would adopt the same procedures once a tracking protocol was established.

Mr Wang, a pioneer in promoting rural grass-roots elections more than a decade ago and an official known for his openness with the media, said he believed the transparency of government operations, especially disaster relief, will be forever changed by the earthquake.

The media was given unprecedented access to report in the early stages and he said: 'When you look at history, do you think progress can backtrack once something is opened up?' But when asked why journalists were banned from entering some quake-hit areas in the later stages of relief efforts, Mr Wang said officials had been concerned about provoking bereaved parents who had lost children in collapsed schools.

Foreign journalists were escorted out when they tried to interview parents who had protested to local authorities over shoddy school construction, which was blamed for killing thousands of children in the quake, and local media was ordered to stay away from the sensitive topic.

'We have to allow the parents to calm down,' he said.

But Mr Wang said he would not rule out the possibility of holding those behind the shoddy buildings responsible, but added: 'It is not the right time yet. The priority now is to settle the survivors. All cadres at the local levels are involved with the resettlement of people now.'

Another primary concern for Mr Wang and his colleagues was how to get reconstruction going in the battered areas.

Mr Wang, who has a master's degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of government and a doctorate from Peking University, said that only when quake victims started to rebuild homes instead of waiting for free meals in tents would the quake zones get back on their feet.

'We want to see people stand up and take part in the reconstruction. Only when they start to spend money and rebuild homes instead of sitting in tents can a market be created.'

There are other important reasons behind urgency to rebuild homes: thin plastic tents distributed by the government cannot shelter millions of refugees during winter.

Mr Wang said the department was ordering cotton tents in case some quake survivors needed winter accommodation.

Of about 8 million people displaced in Sichuan, 2 million would move to prefabricated barracks, he said, and the rest would return to rebuild their homes.

But to do that, money was crucial.

'The central government has pledged to give each household a subsidy of 10,000 yuan, and the feedback we have from farmers is that 10,000 yuan is not enough,' Mr Wang said. 'We are trying to give farmers more by setting aside funds from donations or other sources.'

He said each household could end up getting about 20,000 yuan, but the final amount had not been decided.

'I think farmers are most concerned about the amount of money they will receive,' he said, adding the government would try to motivate farmers to start rebuilding homes in a month's time.

Some volunteers said the government would try to evict refugees from the tented areas in August. But for refugees whose homes were ruined by landslides and were unsafe to return to, that would increase tension.

Mr Wang said few people were living in mountainous areas and he hoped refugees in the safe Chengdu Plain area could start rebuilding.

'We think most farmers want to return to their homes because they have land there,' he said. 'So those who are safe to return can start rebuilding their homes first.'

Reconstruction subsidies will be given to farmers in stages to make sure farmers don't use the entire amount at once, starting with a subsidy of 2,000 yuan per household during the period before the construction begins.

Mr Wang said the government was considering how to make the newly built villages more accommodating.

'We are thinking about how to make the quality of life [of these rebuilt villages] better, such as building earthquake-resistant houses, providing solar energy and rural biogas,' he said.

He hoped that foreign NGOs could provide technical help in the building and planning of new villages.

'I think technical know-how will be most needed for these victims, and that is what foreign NGOs can provide,' he said.

'I really hope to see a few model villages being rebuilt with the help of NGOs so they can set examples for other villages to follow.'

Rising from the rubble

The quake in numbers

Dead: 69,197

Missing: 18,341

Relocated: 1.4m

Still in Hospital: 5,405

Tents erected: 1.5m

Government relief, construction fund: 59b yuan

Donations received: 56.8b yuan

Direct economic losses: 1 trillion yuan

Sources: State Council, Sichuan Government