When the sunshine again sheds on the land and the (minute) hand of the clock points at 4:57'40" a.m. Monday or on May 19, 2008, the bright-colored red flag slowly lowered to half-mast at the imposing Tiananmen Square in downtown Beijing. With the sounding of horns and air sirens, 1.3 billion people across China bowed their heads to observe three minutes of silence, and the history has freezed the frame of this moment at 2:28 p.m. (0628 GMT) on May 19, 2008.
At this moment, the whole of China, to the north and south of the mighty Yangtze river and on both sides of the Great Wall, was plunged into a deep grief and, at this moment, chains of mountain ranges turned silent and rivers were heard sobbing, and the entire nation is mourning victims who lost lives in the quake that jolted Wenchuan county and other areas in southwestern Sichuan province and adjacent regions, and is mourning for the hardships our countrymen have been enduring from the Wenchuan Quake in Sichuan.
This is the first ever national mourning held for victims of natural disasters since the People's Republic of China (RPC) was founded in 1949. This is also the first time to lower the national flags to half-mast to honor those countrymen killed in the national disaster.
We pay our respect to the countrymen who have been lost in the quake and pay tribute to the lives which were perished in darkness. The death toll in the quake had risen to 3,4073 as of 12:00 a.m. Monday or on May 19, according to the earthquake relief headquarters. This icy figure, however, is still on the rise. Those quake victims are our fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and the same flesh and blood of the Chinese nation, and all the dear ones that cannot be torn away from the RPC. The anguish shall be taken jointly by 1.3 billion people across China and the distress shall be shared by the Chinese nation together.
We pay our respect to the countrymen who have been lost in the quake and pay tribute to the lives which have resisted to the jaws of death. The devastating Wenchuan quake brought a merciless wreckage to the delicated, fragile lives and also meant an immortal proof to the people's strong will to live on; many human lives in ruins or under debris sustained with the resolve and resisted to the jaws of death, and their pursuit, steadfastness and desire would be in the shared memory of humanity and be forever kept in the people's lives.
We pay our respect to the countrymen who have been lost in the quake and pay tribute to the great love in the twinkling of an eye to the narrow escape of death challenge. Mountains collapse and the earth cracks, giving rise to stunning scenes of natural fractures along with the displaying of heroic, moving love and affection. Many people leave their desire to live to others upon the teeth of the nightmare and many others prefer leaving the option of death to themselves on the verge of survival or destruction. Let's keep their love for others firmly in mind, the radiance of warmth released from common lives and the loft spirit boundary of the fine sons and daughters of the Chinese nation.
People are above anything else, and lives are above anything else. A modern society with civilization and progress, a socialist country in which "People Come First" and a party in power with its dedication to the wholehearted service to people are sure to place the lives of people in the highest status of value, as every citizen is a master of his own destiny in the country, and the loss of any human life means a loss to the state and a sorrow for the nation. To respect lives and bear in mind hardships would enable a nation to rise amid setbacks and spur it forward in the teeth of trials and tribulations.
The seven full days and nights of sublime relief effort, touching, inspiring donations nationwide and selfless contributions made with loving care under the staunch leadership of the Party Central Committee with Hu Jintao as the General Secretary have encouraged the Chinese people to carry forward their national spirit of uniting as one and working with concerted efforts to overcome difficulties and reproduced the indomitable, united glorious tradition of the Chinese nation in the face of difficulties and hardships.
History shall prove that the earthquake can destroy some things but it is bound to re-cast them in other forms. A nation can never be overwhelmed if it is able to deploy tens of thousands of relief personnel, a nation whose enterprises and individual citizens can make donations of up to some 10 billion yuan, and a nation whose citizens vie one another to offer blood donations and to voluntarily rescue the wounded people to create traffic jam.
Rescue and relief operations are still on the move with challenges still lying ahead. May the national mourning coheres the staunch belief to press ahead with the relief effort and the re-building of homes and inspire the countrymen and console those who have gone in the quake with our unyielding fighting will and concrete actions --- "Any difficulties cannot beat the heroic 40Chinese people."
The People's Daily editorial translated by PD Online
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