Sichuan authorities have claimed victory in the rebuilding of earthquake-ravaged areas despite glaring inadequacies and key questions that remain unanswered more than three years after the country's worst natural disaster in decades.
An official statement issued yesterday by the provincial government said nearly 99 per cent of reconstruction had been completed, at a cost of 857 billion yuan (HK$1.04 trillion).
However, apart from the rebuilding of infrastructure, critics said there was little to celebrate, with Beijing's hasty rebuilding efforts unable to soothe anger and grievances that run deep in the quake zone.
The authorities appear keen to wrap up three years of reconstruction with such triumphal assertions and put behind them bitter memories of the magnitude-8 quake that struck on May 12, 2008, claiming more than 87,000 lives. Hopes of resolving a wide range of outstanding problems that were largely glossed over in the official statement have further dwindled, analysts warned.
The rebuilding process, which Beijing saw as an opportunity to showcase its rising power, has been overshadowed by the misuse of rebuilding funds, controversy over the construction quality of newly built homes and thousands of distraught parents who have been harassed and silenced by local authorities for seeking justice for their dead children.
The National Audit Office reported in June that the embezzlement and misuse of 188 million yuan had been discovered in 36 reconstruction projects, with analysts saying it was only 'the tip of the iceberg'.
