The earthquake a year ago this week killed 87,000 people Sichuan Province in China. In order to give hands to people hit by this deadly earthquake, more than a million people flocked the quake zone. The nation’s leader acted quickly upon this disaster by mobilizing 146,000 troops in a matter of days. As well, China’s biggest corporations and citizens and celebrities gave a total of over $1 billion.
President Hu Jintao said Tuesday during a commemoration, “the great task of earthquake rescue and recovery reminds us again that unity is strength, and that victory can only be gained through struggle.”
However, the government has been criticized for its opaque and authoritarian ways that are not likely to change after the disaster that cost a huge number of lives. The government controlled the press in order to prevent publishing of harmful and provoking aspects. The government blamed the wrath of nature, rather than human malfeasance, to explain why so many school buildings crumbled, causing deaths of 5,300 students.
Tang Kai, who directs the planning office for the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said, “up until now, we haven’t found that anybody caused or did anything to make buildings more vulnerable.”
Parents of the killed students have tried to expose the instances of substandard school buildings. However, their efforts were hindered by the government who doesn’t want its reputation to be tarnished. Most parents acknowledge that the government has given them payments to shut their mouths from revealing the government’s faults.
In recent week, foreign journalists trying to interview the parents were intimidated. Ai Weiwei have been attacked and detained and found his blog postings getting deleted ever since he started a campaign to count the number of dead children in the earthquake.
One reporter said that he and his colleagues’ works to reveal compelling proof that cuts corners and inadequate oversight by local officials have been denied to publish.
As well, the government restricted the attendance of those parents to the public mourning on Tuesday as they might disrupt the commemorative events that were replete dignitaries.
Opinion: We learned in class that one of the characteristics of an authoritative government is controlling press. Controlling press means that people are not free to express their opinion. In contrast, a democratic government protects people's freedom of speech. I have heard many times that China is moving towards democracy from authoritarian. Thus, it is crucial for the chinese government to understand the importance of people's opinion and how they should respect them. The way the government dealt with the earthquake was a violation of freedom of speech. Parents who try to speak up for investigation and strict governmental regulation on school buildings have been harrassed and jailed. As well, reporters are deprived of their rights to inform people with the truth. I understand that the government is worried of social unstability angry people might cause. However, the government has to realize that organized protests are an important part of democratic society. The government has to listen to people and work on behalf of them in order to finally establish democracy in the country.
The New York Times
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