https://www.scmp.com/rss/302641/feed A powerful tremor registering 7.0 on the Richter scale (6.6 according to the US Geological Survey) and a series of strong aftershocks hit near the city of Yaan in southwestern China's Sichuan province on April 20, 2013, causing heavy casualties and losses. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Four people have died after China’s southwestern Sichuan province was hit by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake and another less powerful jolt minutes later – in the same area where a huge quake nine years ago left nearly 200 people dead. Beijing has ordered a Level 3 emergency response, the third-highest in China’s four-tier system, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Wednesday’s first quake occurred at 5pm at a depth of 17km (10.5 miles), its epicentre 113km from the provincial capital of Chengdu, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3180041/61-magnitude-quake-shakes-chinese-county-epicentre-deadly-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3180041/61-magnitude-quake-shakes-chinese-county-epicentre-deadly-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Jun 2022 11:41:23 +0000 The former chief of a Chinese city hit by a devastating earthquake is under investigation for “serious discipline violations”, officials said on Wednesday, amid accusations that he used the disaster to defraud the government. Xu Mengjia was removed last month as the top party official of Yaan in the southwest, which was hit by a 6.6-magnitude earthquake in April that killed 196 people and injured more than 10,000. The probe was announced on the website of the ruling Communist party’s top... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1372922/yaan-official-investigated-allegedly-dipping-earthquake-relief-funds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1372922/yaan-official-investigated-allegedly-dipping-earthquake-relief-funds?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Dec 2013 08:48:45 +0000 The party head of Yaan city, Sichuan province, was removed from his post, the municipal government said on Sunday night on its official Sina Weibo blog. The statement said the decision was made by the Communist Party’s Sichuan committee but did not mention the reason for Xu Jengjia’s removal. Xu will be replaced Ye Zhuang, secretary general of Sichuan provincial government and director of the general office of Sichuan provincial government. Many mainland media organisations circulated the report... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1359348/yaan-party-chief-removed-post-amid-graft-allegations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1359348/yaan-party-chief-removed-post-amid-graft-allegations?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Nov 2013 07:38:04 +0000 President Xi Jinping yesterday visited areas of Sichuan hit hardest by last month's magnitude 7 earthquake, meeting survivors and inspecting reconstruction work at a Hong Kong-funded school building. It was his first visit to Lushan county in Yaan, the epicentre of the April 20 quake that left more than 200 people dead, at least 13,000 injured and millions homeless. Xi arrived at the Lushan County Stadium at 2.30pm and stayed for more than 10 minutes, showing his concern for survivors sheltering... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1243017/xi-surprise-inspection-sichuan-quake-towns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1243017/xi-surprise-inspection-sichuan-quake-towns?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 At 2.28 this afternoon countless families will be savouring lunch in honour of Mother's Day. But it will be a poignant moment for thousands of mainland mothers still mourning children who died in the catastrophic Sichuan earthquake that struck at that moment five years ago. The day after, this column closed its first comment with the words: "A great disaster has befallen China." In the lead-up to the fifth anniversary, the media has revisited the convulsion of nature that killed more than 87,000... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1235585/beijing-has-learned-lessons-about-quake-relief-2008?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1235585/beijing-has-learned-lessons-about-quake-relief-2008?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The earthquake that rocked the Yaan region of Sichuan last month delivered a telling report card on what authorities have learned from the quake that devastated the same region this month five years ago. And it's mostly good news. More than 87,000 people were killed in 2008's May 12 quake, and 51 counties and cities in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi suffered terrible damage. Some 5,300 of the dead were pupils killed when school buildings, supposed to be stronger than other buildings, collapsed,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1233889/lessons-school-hard-knocks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1233889/lessons-school-hard-knocks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 To think of him not managing the club is unthinkable. I'm in a state of shock Manchester United fan Roy Ng on Alex Ferguson (pictured)   All in all, we peasants simply don't find that life in multi-storey flats suits us Sichuan earthquake victim Zhou Youcheng on his new home   The days when North Korea could create a crisis and elicit concessions - those days are over U.S. President Barack Obama https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1233197/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1233197/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Two Communist Party mouthpieces yesterday reported the controversy in Hong Kong over the HK$100 million donation to earthquake victims in Sichuan - pointing the finger at the Red Cross Society of China. The articles, in People's Daily and the English edition of Global Times, came after the Legislative Council passed the government's funding request on Friday - a vote that saw 23 pan-democratic lawmakers oppose it. The Global Times story quoted radical legislator Wong Yuk-man's criticisms of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1231794/party-papers-remark-hong-kong-quake-donation-furore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1231794/party-papers-remark-hong-kong-quake-donation-furore?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The Hong Kong Red Cross has promised to monitor the use of the HK$12 million it has received in donations to help survivors of last month's earthquake in Sichuan province. The charity's pledge came amid mounting local distrust of mainland relief work. Critics fear any contributions might end up lining the pockets of corrupt officials. In the two weeks since the April 20 disaster in Yaan , the Red Cross had received HK$12 million, the local branch of the international charity said... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1230300/hong-kong-red-cross-vows-monitor-use-yaan-quake-donations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1230300/hong-kong-red-cross-vows-monitor-use-yaan-quake-donations?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The legislature approved a controversial HK$100 million government donation to official Sichuan earthquake relief efforts yesterday, despite earlier worries over a possible filibuster. In a 37-23 vote, with pan-democrat Dr Joseph Lee Kok-long abstaining and with the support of pro-establishment lawmakers, the proposal was approved by the Legislative Council Finance Committee after an almost two-hour debate. The debate resumed yesterday after discussions last week failed to reach a vote. All 14... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1229296/legco-approves-hk100m-sichuan-quake-donation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1229296/legco-approves-hk100m-sichuan-quake-donation?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 May 2013 09:41:43 +0000 New debate on Sichuan quake funding Lawmakers resume discussions on the government's plan to donated HK$100 million to earthquake relief efforts in Sichuan. The Legislative Council's Finance Committee failed to reach a vote when it met to debate the idea last week. The donation plan has proved controversial due to concerns about official corruption on the mainland and how the city's donations in the wake of the 2008 earthquake were handled.   Poultry markets close amid flu fears Poultry markets... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1228695/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1228695/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 When it comes to relief aid for victims of natural disasters, the sooner the better. That is why rescuers and volunteers wasted no time rushing into Sichuan province after it was hit by a severe earthquake on April 20, the second fatal one in five years. Two weeks have passed. The local situation does not appear to have improved much. The death toll is close to 200 now; countless families who lost their homes are living under appalling conditions; makeshift shelters are still swarmed with the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1228716/earthquake-victims-relief-delayed-relief-denied?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1228716/earthquake-victims-relief-delayed-relief-denied?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Best way to help victims is through NGOs The discussion is ongoing in Hong Kong about whether the government should donate money to victims of the earthquake last month in Yaan , Sichuan . Some dissenting voices have said the administration should not give the proposed sum of HK$100 million because the money will just go into the pockets of corrupt officials. I agree that any money should not go through the mainland authorities. People's reluctance to back this donation has nothing to do with a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1227839/letters-editor-may-2-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1227839/letters-editor-may-2-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The People's Daily published a lengthy feature online yesterday detailing how Premier Li Keqiang took command of rescue operations for the Sichuan earthquake , over the past 10 days, and analysts said it appeared to be part of a well-planned propaganda push to cast the nation's new leadership in a positive light. The article came after Xinhua and other official news outlets had run features and commentaries lauding the new leaders' "resolve and capabilities" in dealing with both the quake and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1227844/media-reports-premiers-visit-sichuan-quake-zone-show-propaganda-grip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1227844/media-reports-premiers-visit-sichuan-quake-zone-show-propaganda-grip?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 About HK$172 million from Hong Kong corporations and individuals had been donated to Yaan earthquake relief efforts in Sichuan province, according to the central government's liaison office. The figure comes as party mouthpiece People's Daily said a majority of Hongkongers were in favour of funneling HK$100 million of public funds into relief efforts. The donation, proposed by Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, was delayed last week amid concerns that it could be misused by corrupt... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1227366/hk172m-donated-yaan-earthquake-relief-says-liaison-office?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1227366/hk172m-donated-yaan-earthquake-relief-says-liaison-office?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 May 2013 03:03:49 +0000 Chengdu , the capital of Sichuan province, has halted a controversial chemical plant project amid concerns over its proximity to an earthquake fault line. "The government insists that it will not allow production at the petrochemical project in Pengzhou to begin prior to a legally required examination," the Chengdu Daily quoted a statement from a city council meeting on Monday. The statement came nine days after a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Sichuan and killed at least 196 people. The quake... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1227111/chengdu-ethylene-plant-halts-construction-over-quake-safety-fears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1227111/chengdu-ethylene-plant-halts-construction-over-quake-safety-fears?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 UK's problems down to Blair, not Thatcher I refer to Kevin Rafferty's article ("Britain's economy labours in the shadow of Thatcher's none-too-splendid legacy", April 20). Britain's burdens today are the result of Tony Blair's and Gordon Brown's 13 years, not those of Margaret Thatcher. Theirs is the legacy of financial crisis, blown-out public finances, welfare dependency, a fragmented union, failed foreign adventures, broken borders, a broken military and the Eurobabble that Britain now... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1227107/letters-editor-may-1-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1227107/letters-editor-may-1-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A Communist Party mouthpiece weighed into the HK$100 million Sichuan quake relief controversy yesterday, claiming that only "a minority of Hong Kong people" were against the donation. The article in yesterday's overseas edition of People's Daily comes amid government plans to make a second application for the funding to the Legislative Council's special financial committee on Friday. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's plan for a HK$100 million donation to Sichuan's earthquake victims was delayed... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1227024/party-paper-claims-most-hong-kong-people-back-aid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1227024/party-paper-claims-most-hong-kong-people-back-aid?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Mainland insurers are poised for profit growth in the second quarter, with insurance claims after the recent Yaan earthquake not expected to be high, while investment returns and premium income are likely to improve. Minsheng Securities estimated that insurance claims after the Yaan earthquake in Lushan county, in Sichuan province, on April 20 would be no more than 100 million yuan (HK$125 million), while Guotai Junan Securities forecast that the claims would be less than 200 million yuan, far... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1227091/yaan-earthquake-fails-rock-insurers-profits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1227091/yaan-earthquake-fails-rock-insurers-profits?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Party mouthpiece People’s Daily drew heat from internet users on Tuesday for publishing a front page editorial defending the scandal-plagued Red Cross Society of China and dismissing online public opinion as not reflecting “actual public opinion”. “While the China Red Cross Society continues to face a credibility crisis, it still has a rather strong degree of trust … facts also show there is still a massive gap between online public opinion and actual public opinion,” the editorial said. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1226876/peoples-daily-slammed-defending-china-red-cross?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1226876/peoples-daily-slammed-defending-china-red-cross?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:49:57 +0000 Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, has said it has halted a controversial chemical plant project amid concerns over its proximity to an earthquake fault line. "The government insists that it will not allow production at the petrochemical project in Pengzhou to begin prior to a legally required examination," the Chengdu Daily quoted a statement from a city council meeting on Monday. The statement came nine days after a 7-magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan and killed at least 196 people.... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1226715/sichuan-chemical-plant-project-suspended-after-yaan-earthquake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1226715/sichuan-chemical-plant-project-suspended-after-yaan-earthquake?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:27:41 +0000 As a Hong Kong citizen, it intrigues me to read Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s response to lawmakers’ boycott on her motion to donate public funds to earthquake relief efforts in Yaan. A South China Morning Post article quoted her as saying: “We have to put trust in the system.” To be honest, her stress on “trust” sounds meaningless and almost sarcastic to me.  It is practically impossible for Hong Kong people to trust the mainland political system after seeing piles of evidence... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1226532/why-i-didnt-donate-sichuan-earthquake-relief?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1226532/why-i-didnt-donate-sichuan-earthquake-relief?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Apr 2013 01:42:37 +0000 All lives lost should be seen as the same For chemical weapons read weapons of mass destruction. Western powers shall intervene in Syria, create another failed state that will become another fundamentalist justification for the global "war on terror" and then blame faulty intelligence that was accepted "in good faith". The global arms business will continue to flourish as the pursuit of wealth by a few continues to blight the lives of millions. Does anyone seriously believe that Bashar al-Assad... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1226237/letters-editor-april-30-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1226237/letters-editor-april-30-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Heavy rainfall this summer could hamper reconstruction efforts in earthquake-stricken Yaan and set the scene for follow-up disasters, China’s meteorological authority has warned. Yaan, in central Sichuan province, will see an average of 1,200mm of rainfall across the region from May to September - nearly three times the national average, China Meteorological Administration spokesman Chen Zhenlin said in a press briefing on Sunday. The city was at the epicentre of a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1225898/quake-hit-yaan-see-heavy-rainfall-disaster-risks-raised?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1225898/quake-hit-yaan-see-heavy-rainfall-disaster-risks-raised?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Apr 2013 05:02:08 +0000 The devastating earthquake that hit Sichuan less than a fortnight ago might have offered an interesting answer to the ongoing debate over the definition of "love your country, love Hong Kong". For a city renowned for its capitalism, money is perhaps the best measurement of love. Over the past week, Hongkongers' heartstrings have been tugged by the sum of HK$100 million - an amount not many people will earn in their entire lifetime. It is also the sum the government intended to donate to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1225369/we-do-love-our-country-we-also-love-our-money?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1225369/we-do-love-our-country-we-also-love-our-money?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The scandal-plagued Red Cross Society of China has received little more than half of the donations to aid earthquake relief in Sichuan last week - a much smaller share than the government's premier charity has raised in the past. By Saturday, the RCSC had recorded 570 million yuan (HK$711 million) of the just over one billion yuan donated to help survivors of the April 20 quake centred on Lushan county, The Beijing News reported. The remainder of the donations was split among 115 other charity... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1225522/red-cross-society-china-sees-smaller-share-donations-after-quake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1225522/red-cross-society-china-sees-smaller-share-donations-after-quake?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Crowds gathered in devastated Lushan county yesterday as a day of mourning was held across Sichuan province for those killed in the last weekend's magnitude 7 earthquake. At 8.02am, the precise moment the quake struck a week earlier, work stopped and people bowed their heads across Lushan, the quake's epicentre, to observe three minutes of silence as air-raid sirens and the horns of cars and trucks sounded. Local residents, soldiers and volunteers came to a standstill on streets in Lushan town.... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1224502/sichuan-mourns-quake-dead-one-week-later?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1224502/sichuan-mourns-quake-dead-one-week-later?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Apr 2013 02:32:40 +0000 Residents of Lushan county in Sichuan province, the epicentre of Saturday's magnitude 7 earthquake that has claimed at least 196 lives, say they are concerned about corruption after local authorities announced a high figure for economic losses that will be used as the basis for rebuilding plans. The focus will shift from emergency relief to reconstruction after the province observes a day of public mourning today. It will begin with vehicles sounding their horns at 8.02am, the time the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1224180/victims-fear-cadres-padding-quake-losses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1224180/victims-fear-cadres-padding-quake-losses?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Radical lawmakers should stop their overdose of filibuster tactics, given that the harm they've done has already had a big impact on the government and people's livelihood. Before they launched their plan to delay the budget vote in the Legislative Council, the radicals had started filibustering to reject the government's request for HK$100 million to aid Sichuan earthquake victims, for fear the money would be siphoned off by corrupt officials. That concern is understandable, given that... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1224030/filibuster-lawmakers-play-politics-others-expense?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1224030/filibuster-lawmakers-play-politics-others-expense?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The toppling of Communist Party officials is often met with schadenfreude, but the sacking of a deputy township chief in quake-hit Lushan county has sparked a rare public outcry. Yang Chengyi, 47, was removed from his post at in Qingyuan township on Wednesday for being absent from a relief work site at Hengxi village, making him the first official to lose his job in the wake of Saturday's magnitude 7 earthquake. But Yang's removal attracted sympathy from the public, including villagers and his... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1224186/outpouring-sympathy-online-sacked-official-quake-zone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1224186/outpouring-sympathy-online-sacked-official-quake-zone?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Moments after the start of his daily grind as a construction worker in northern China, Xia Donghai’s world came crashing down with news that a terrifying earthquake had struck his hometown almost a thousand miles away. With all communications down in Lushan county in the southwestern province of Sichuan, Xia’s only way of knowing if his family had survived was to set off on an epic journey that would deliver either relief or tragedy. “I am filled with terror, I do not know what I will find when... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1223754/one-mans-thousand-mile-journey-reach-his-family-sichuan-quake-zone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1223754/one-mans-thousand-mile-journey-reach-his-family-sichuan-quake-zone?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:23:27 +0000 A period of public mourning will be observed on Saturday for those who died in a 7.0-magnitude quake that jolted Lushan County in Sichuan Province on April 20. It will begin with all transportation vehicles sounding their sirens at 8:02 a.m., the time the devastating earthquake hit. A silent tribute will follow and last 3 minutes, according to the notice. The provincial government issued a notice that all entertainment activities throughout the province would be halted in public places on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1223649/car-horns-signal-period-public-mourning-sichuan-quake-victims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1223649/car-horns-signal-period-public-mourning-sichuan-quake-victims?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Apr 2013 04:36:02 +0000 Despite the damage wrought by Saturday's magnitude-7 earthquake in Sichuan, no buildings that were rebuilt after the magnitude-8 quake of 2008 had collapsed, senior provincial officials said in Beijing yesterday. Qiu Jian, chief housing planner with the Sichuan government, said a preliminary survey by more than 400 inspectors had found that that no buildings rebuilt after the 2008 earthquake had "completely collapsed". "Given the strength of Saturday's quake, the reconstruction projects have... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1223231/officials-say-schools-and-hospitals-rebuilt-after-2008-saved-lives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1223231/officials-say-schools-and-hospitals-rebuilt-after-2008-saved-lives?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong-funded buildings at two schools in Sichuan hit by Saturday's magnitude-7 earthquake are among the few structures that did not sustain major damage. Many local homes were either seriously damaged or collapsed. Both schools - Lushan Middle School in downtown Lushan and Longxing Central School in Longmen township - were at the epicentre of the quake, which claimed at least 196 lives. The schools were opened in 2010 and 2011, with support from the Hong Kong government of 31.37 million yuan... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1223230/hong-kong-funded-schools-survive-sichuan-earthquake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1223230/hong-kong-funded-schools-survive-sichuan-earthquake?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Widespread speculation on the internet has begun as to whether a secondary school in earthquake-ravaged Lushan county, funded by the Hong Kong government, had been constructed using substandard materials. Cracked and peeling walls at Lushan County Junior Secondary School exposed bricks that were either hollow or filled with “polystyrene foam”, party mouthpiece People’s Daily reported on Thursday. Netizens on the Chinese blogosphere began spreading the news after the revelations arose earlier... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222958/foam-hollowed-bricks-used-lushan-school-construction-reports-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222958/foam-hollowed-bricks-used-lushan-school-construction-reports-say?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:15:16 +0000 The website of Jackie Chan’s Beijing-based charity organisation “returned to normal” operations on Wednesday after being hacked for three days, the Beijing News reported on Thursday. The Hong Kong action star announced on Tuesday on his personal weibo account: “Yaan is in need of disaster relief funds right now and while I have been co-ordinating action, the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation’s website has been continually attacked and tampered with”. An error that read “warning: this page may... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222803/jackie-chan-charity-hacked-three-days-yaan-donations-disrupted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222803/jackie-chan-charity-hacked-three-days-yaan-donations-disrupted?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2013 06:04:44 +0000 Thousands of homes were destroyed and at least 47 people were injured after two earthquakes, at 4.8 and 4.2 magnitude, jolted Sichuan’s Yibin city on Thursday morning, said a government website. Yibin is about 300 kilometres from Yaan, where a 7-magnitude temblor on Saturday killed more than 190 people. The city has about 4.4 million residents, according to a 2010 census. Thursday's twin quakes ocurred around 6am, according to a Sichuan government website. The US Geological Survey website shows... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222754/new-quakes-hit-sichuans-yibin-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222754/new-quakes-hit-sichuans-yibin-city?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:34:22 +0000 Hoards of angry townspeople gathered around a noodle shop in earthquake-hit Yaan earlier this week to protest what they thought was unfair price-gouging during a time of crisis, the Oriental Daily reported on Thursday. Chinese internet users said on Tuesday that a noodle shop in Yingjing county had raised the price of its popular tata noodles, a local speciality, to 20 yuan per bowl, from five yuan. Netizens accused the shop-owners of “immorally” capitalising on the large numbers of rescue... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222713/yaan-noodle-shop-slammed-price-gouging-amid-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222713/yaan-noodle-shop-slammed-price-gouging-amid-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2013 03:47:36 +0000 Four-year-old Wang Yanxia was considered lucky and a gift to her family when she was born in the wake of the magnitude-8 earthquake that hit Wenchuan, Sichuan, in 2008. Now her family is struggling to face the reality of her death in the Yaan quake. Falling debris hit Yanxia as she rushed out of the house when the magnitude-7 quake struck Lushan county on Saturday. She died that day at a hospital in Yaan, news portal Cheng.cn reported on Wednesday. "At first we thought that if she managed to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222685/wenchuan-born-girl-died-yaan-earthquake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222685/wenchuan-born-girl-died-yaan-earthquake?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2013 03:05:45 +0000 Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was disappointment yesterday after lawmakers failed to vote on a proposal to donate HK$100 million to the Sichuan earthquake relief effort amid concerns the funds may be misused. "I hope this will not affect the ties between Hong Kong people and mainland compatriots and lawmakers do not make a mountain out of a molehill," she said after a two-hour Finance Committee ended before all who wanted to had spoken. This came as charities raising funds for the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1222423/lam-regrets-filibuster-over-quake-donation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1222423/lam-regrets-filibuster-over-quake-donation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The central and provincial governments may soon face a huge compensation bill in parts of Sichuan hit by Saturday's magnitude 7 quake, with residents of the formerly cut-off Baoxing county expressing concern about whether they will be given enough to fix the damage. "I wish I will get enough money to rebuild my house, but I'm not optimistic," said Li Xiaofen, who said her house was destroyed in Baoxing, once reported to be one of the areas hit hardest by the quake and the last quake-hit area to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222464/baoxing-county-frets-over-compensation-sichuan-quake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222464/baoxing-county-frets-over-compensation-sichuan-quake?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The national Red Cross Society will reopen an investigation into a scandal that rocked mainland charitable bodies two years ago. Public confidence in the organisation has plunged, prompting a university student in Hong Kong to post an open letter earlier in the week asking first lady Peng Liyuan to take the reins of the society. Acknowledging the deep public distrust in the Red Cross, Wang Yong, the spokesman for the society's oversight committee, said it would reopen an investigation into the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222416/red-cross-society-china-reopen-guo-meimei-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222416/red-cross-society-china-reopen-guo-meimei-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 In the final part of SCMP reporter Zhuang Pinghui's account of the Sichuan earthquake, she reveals how the shell-shocked community of Longmen village came together to bury the dead. Monday, April 22 More rescue materials arrived during the night and the next morning the town centre was piled high with bottled water and emergency food supplies. Monks handed out hot porridge and people queued for hot buns donated by a bakery whose owner moved all his staff and cooking equipment from Chengdu to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1222212/sichuan-quake-food-supplies-finally-arrived-still-it-wasnt-enough?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1222212/sichuan-quake-food-supplies-finally-arrived-still-it-wasnt-enough?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:58:58 +0000 In part two of SCMP reporter Zhuang Pinghui's compelling account of the Sichuan earthquake, she tells of the day after the tremors struck and how shaken and injured villagers began a battle for survival. Sunday, April 21 We started the second day at the Lushan county at 6am. By then the county was already awake. People were queueing for food to be dispatched by volunteers. We went to the county hospital where medical tents were stationed and it was there I saw Zheng Bing, a girl transferred... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1222196/how-do-we-cope-man-shouted-militiamen-blocked-command-centre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1222196/how-do-we-cope-man-shouted-militiamen-blocked-command-centre?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:24:41 +0000 When photographer Simon Song and I arrived in Chengdu on Friday night for a five-day trip to revisit the worst-hit areas of the May 12 earthquake of 2008, the last thing we expected was to be there for the live reporting of a new one. Saturday, April 20 I had just got down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast when the jolt came. It lasted for several seconds and people started to run out of the hotel and into the street. "There has been no quake for several years and I almost forgot how scary... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1222183/sichuan-quake-another-aftershock-came-houses-shook-violently?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1222183/sichuan-quake-another-aftershock-came-houses-shook-violently?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:30:30 +0000 Fear of funds being misused is not the only reason holding Hongkongers back from supporting a proposed HK$100 million donation to earthquake-stricken Sichuan. A city dweller had made it clear to his “compatriots” on Sina Weibo that things have changed in the last five years when an even bigger 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck Wenchuan in 2008. Gangpiaoquan, a popular weibo group comprised of mainland “drifters”, who live and work in Hong Kong, posted a letter on Sunday apparently sent in from a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222169/city-dweller-explains-hong-kongs-attitude-sichuan-donations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222169/city-dweller-explains-hong-kongs-attitude-sichuan-donations?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:44:54 +0000 Plans by the government to make a HK$100 million donation to the Sichuan earthquake relief effort were on hold yesterday after a legislators' meeting on the proposal ended without a vote. The impasse came amid lawmakers' concerns of possible misuse of the funds. No date has been set for resumption of the Finance Committee debate, which ended with several lawmakers still to speak and several motions seeking to divert the funds from mainland officials to non-government groups still left... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1222130/charity-groups-efficiency-analysis-spotlight-hk100m-donation-proposal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1222130/charity-groups-efficiency-analysis-spotlight-hk100m-donation-proposal?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Apr 2013 05:56:52 +0000 The website of the China's Seismological Society has been hacked on Wednesday amid a controversy over an earthquake drill the day before the Yaan earthquake struck Sichuan. “You **** Chinese Communist Party!" the hackers, which identified themselves as Anti-Communist Hackers, wrote in a banner on the society's website. "Paying no regard to people's lives, clearly knowing about the earthquake, you only had a drill and didn't tell people!" The banner is referring to an earthquake rescue drill in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222129/chinas-seismological-society-targeted-hackers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222129/chinas-seismological-society-targeted-hackers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Apr 2013 05:54:48 +0000 When retired journalist Zhou Xiaoxiang started a WeChat group on Friday, he had no idea it would set in motion rescue efforts for an earthquake the next day.  Half a week later, more than a hundred charities, activists and donors have joined the conversation, which has turned into an umbrella organisation for NGOs and co-ordinates local donations for earthquake victims in Sichuan. "I never expected that we'd have this earthquake the next day," said the Chengdu-based executive director of an NGO... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222049/china-ngos-turn-wechat-aid-quake-rescue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1222049/china-ngos-turn-wechat-aid-quake-rescue?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:36:43 +0000 The small city of Yaan is almost at capacity, with volunteers and reporters from around the world converging, some hoping to help quake survivors. Meanwhile, the traffic is terrible. It takes double the normal time to get to the quake-hit counties from Yaan. The government claimed it was because the roads were blocked by debris and waste, and inexperienced volunteers rushing into the area. But this SCMP reporter found the government’s disaster relief efforts poorly managed, and probably the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1221975/plenty-roadblocks-while-covering-yaan-earthquake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1221975/plenty-roadblocks-while-covering-yaan-earthquake?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:06:16 +0000