The situation is inspiring–this is a consensus reached by some senior foreign diplomats who were invited to the commemoration anniversary of a quake measuring 8.0 on the Richter Scale that ravaged Wenchuan county in Sichuan province and nearby areas on May 12, 2008.
These senior diplomats attended a ceremony Tuesday afternoon along with Chinese leaders and people at the epicenter Yinxiu town, Wenchuan County in Sichuan province; they also walked to a commemorative wall and placed white chrysanthemums in memory of those who had died in the quake.
Earlier, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with them Monday and expressed his appreciation of the world community for the strong support and valuable aid on the wake of last year's devastating quake in southwest China and called for further international cooperation in talking major natural disasters.
On the sideline of this special ceremony, these senior foreign diplomats visited or inspected the quake-hit areas ravaged by the severe quake, where they personally witnessed great, immense changes that had come to the fore there in the past year after the quake.
Saudi Ambassador to China Yahya Alzayd (Yahya bin Abdul-Kareem Al-Zaid) said that he rejoiced at tremendous changes that have occurred in the quake-hit area. At a spacious classroom for pre-school kids at the newly-built Wanchuan School, the lovely kids were having a basic dance lesson to the accompaniment of the organ playing. He was impressed most by these kids, said Ambassador Alzayd, and he could see in them China's bright future.
The dauntless spirit of Sichuan people and the new, incredible look of the quake-hit areas also moved Cuban Ambassador Carlos Miguel Pereira. Under the staunch leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people, who are striving unceasingly to be stronger and wealthier, are really promising and capable of surmounting any obstacles, he said in his fluent Chinese, adding that the optimism of people in the quake-hit areas is the most valuable source of strength.
The natural catastrophe a full year ago has left behind shocking scenes of misery. To help China tide over its hardships, more than 160 countries, regions and world bodies as well as numerous international organizations around the globe have offered the Chinese nation a huge amount of aid.
When the catastrophic quake occurred in China, Russians really felt as if they themselves had been struck by the tremor, said Russian Ambassador to China Sergey Razov. A 50-member Russian rescue team saved the life of a 61-year-old woman who had been buried for up to 127 hours in the ruble of Dujiangyan City, and planes dispatched by Russia made 22 sortie trips to transport relief goods to the quake area, Ambassador Razov recalled. "We feel we've done what we should do."
Dr. Yin Yin Nwe, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) representative to China, said she was deeply moved by the mental outlook of both teachers and kids at the post-quake Wanchuan School. Noting that the situation there was encouraging, she explained that homes and school buildings ruined by the quake had to be rebuilt, she said, and more heed, nevertheless, should be paid to the protection of the psychology of kids and the fostering of their upbeat spirit.
At the Shibei Village in Dujiangyan city, row upon row of new, beautiful living quarters are seen in vivid yellow and blue colors along with 480 square-meter auxiliary public service facilities, such as a library, a clinic, a jogging path, and a badminton and tennis club. These senior diplomats could hardly imagine this is the very site of a crumbled village where the deadly tremor victimized a total of 438 families, killed 46 locals and flattened about 3,000 flats.
Meanwhile, Japanese Ambassador Yuji Miyamoto said he attributed China's superb mobilizing and organizational capacity to the victory in the rescue and relief endeavor in the quake-hit areas. Of all felt quakes that occur globally every year, half happen in Japan, and his country has amassed much experience in this regard, he acknowledged. The Japan-China exchanges and cooperation over the past year is also very meaningful to Japan.
The eminent humanitarian spirit and professional devotion of Japanese rescue and medical teams, said Ambassador Miyamoto, also moved or touched a great number of people in China. President Hu Jintao met on July 8, 2008 with representative of the Japanese teams that partook in the rescue work in the aftermath of the 8.0-magnitude quake in Sichuan.
Moreover, the diplomatic envoys of France, Germany, the U.S., Singapore and a few other nations also voiced their readiness to continue to provide aid and help for reconstruction in the Wenchuan quake-hit areas, while talking together to offer their blessings for the people of China and confer on those things that had move them most profoundly.
The magnitude-8.0 quake that jolted southwest China, including many parts of Sichuan, on May 12, 2008, left more than 69,000 people dead, and nearly 18,000 missing, more than 374, 000 injured and millions homeless.
By People's Daily senior reporter Li Wenyun and translated by PD Online
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