All of China Commemorates Earthquake Anniversary

Today marks the 1-year anniversary of the Sichuan / Wenchuan Earthquake, an event that temporarily leveled a country's spirit while simultaneously strengthening their resolve in the months leading up to the 2008 Olympics.  All around the country today gatherings and memorials will be taking place to remember the victims of the tragedy and many news sources like this major north-Xinjiang newspaper have acknowledged the anniversary with huge front-page dedications.

I remember the week of the earthquake and how everything we did seemed to revolve around this small town of Wenchuan that up that point I had never heard of.  A few people I know here in Xinjiang said they felt the quake every-so slightly, but the incredible distance between here and Sichuan leaves me doubtful.  Personally, I was taking a nap when it hit.  One blogger I know who lives in Xi'an recounted today how he thought the epicenter of the earthquake was right under his feet (Xi'an is close to 600km from the actual epicenter).

Three days following the earthquake all of China mourned, even out here in Xinjiang.  These were my thoughts a year ago:

"The siren blared outside today. Horns honked. All cars stopped, business suspended. The normal sounds of peddlers, trash collectors, and street sweepers were gone. The time was 2:28pm and the noise marked one week since the devastating earthquake that rocked the very core of China."

In that same article I wrote about how we accidentally joined a candlelight vigil, a scene that will be replayed all over China today:

"Tonight we attended a candlelight vigil. It was actually an accident that we were there - we had at first intended to go to the swimming pool tonight, but it, along with many other major businesses, has closed its doors for the next three days in remembrance of this tragedy.

Since the swimming pool had closed we went to the nearest attraction to hang out which happened to be the newly opened public park. While there we were witness to the gathering of thousands of Chinese people who brought flags, flowers, and signs as well as candles to light together.

Poems were read, the national anthem sung, and random cries of "中国加油！" were shouted and repeated (this phrase is roughly translated as a cheer similar to "Go team!" except here it's "Go China!"). It was an honor to be a part of this gathering and even more special to see how people seemed to accept us as foreigners to join with them in their mourning."

Giving: Public or Private?

Hey everybody...a big debate has sprouted up here in China and has brought with it some very thought-provoking questions I wanted to pass along. This past few weeks all news and even our blogs have focused heavily on the earthquake disaster that has plagued this country. It's hard not to be focused on it. Because of this there has been heavy pressure from every angle to donate money. The government, company leaders, and school officials are requiring their employees to donate to the relief cause. Here's the catch: unlike the west, donations can't be made anonymously.

Think about that for a second. If donations can't be made anonymously, the dynamic of giving completely changes. On the up-side, one good thing that happens is that everybody donates. Our school put up a list on the internet of all its employees (including us) and how much we donated - everybody knew this when they donated. The whole city of Karamay will see how much the foreign teachers donated and many might make judgments based on their knowledge of how much money we make. Some companies required their employees to give because they didn't want their company to be shown as the one to give the least. In a sense, giving became a competition (turning everything into a competition is a disease in this country). Unfortunately when this happens, giving is no longer a response to a need but rather a necessity to keep oneself from public shame.

Thankfully we feel confident in what we gave, even though I shamefully have to admit that I might not have been so willing to give what we did had it been anonymous. But therein lies the debate. Since giving is public for all people, including celebrities, the internet is buzzing with citizens who don't think the movie and pop stars in China gave enough in light of their salaries. For days the main TV stations have shown gatherings where big wig government officials and businessmen came to the front and put their donations in a big box on stage. They got up on stage, flashed their face for the camera, and put their bag labeled with the money amount into the box. As I looked at their faces I wondered how many would have donated such amounts if all was anonymous. Again, I shamefully admit that my donations would be different.
This presents two questions in my mind. First: Should giving be public or private? I think the answer to this question is pretty obvious because giving, if not done from a sincere heart, becomes a tax, not a gift; however, the idea still requires some thought. The second question is a bit more personal. Think about a time in which you last gave, whether that was for Hurricane Katrina or last Sunday's tithe. If everybody saw how much you donated, would it have been any different? Keeping in mind that 10% was never an exact mandate in the Word, does public scrutiny hold more power over us and our money than the knowledge that we live what we believe through how we serve and care for others? It's a powerful question, and the implications of my own personal answer have required me to begin to fix how I approach giving.

What about you?

Numbers CAN Lie

Friday the 13th

666

The 13th floor of any building (if they even label it the 13th floor)

Lucky number 7

Anything sound familiar? Regardless of your personal feelings towards these numbers, most everybody in America is well aware of their significance. Even if we don't really believe that the number 13 is unlucky, it just doesn't feel right working on the 13th floor, does it? If your phone number begins with 666, you'd probably get more than a few comments about it, wouldn't you? Until recently, I had this silly idea that these lucky or unlucky numbers were the same everywhere in the world. They're not.

The two most unlucky numbers here in China are 4 and 7. Why is that, you ask? Unlike in America (does anybody know why 13 is unlucky?), I can actually answer that question: the word for 4, or 四 sounds eerily close to the word 死, the Chinese symbol for "death". Makes sense. Accordingly, the word for 7, or 七 has a sound similar to 欺 which means "fool". Two lucky numbers in China are 6 and 8. People pay thousands of dollars to have a telephone number like or . If there's any doubt as to whether the number 8 is considered to be lucky in China, just look at the Olympics. Have you noticed when the summer Olympics begin this year? August 8, 2008 or 8/8/2008. They even have the opening ceremony beginning at 8pm! People in China went crazy when this was announced. This would for sure bring good luck to the Olympic Games and to China.

Unfortunately, 2008 hasn't turned out to be so lucky. It all began this winter with the terrible ice storm we talked about a bit after our Spring Festival vacation. Thankfully when my parents visited we stayed in the unaffected northern part of China, but everybody was still talking about it. Besides the havoc that was wreaked on the economy, which was enormous, it also highlighted the importance of the rail network here in China. Without trains running due to severe ice, no coal was transported south to keep people warm and no food was transported north to keep people fed. Total cost: over $1billion dollars. Then the earthquake. Cost estimates along with the death toll are rising daily and are just now beginning to show signs of slowing. Minute-by-minute reports of the relief and recovery effort continue to bombard us from every possible media outlet and the government has recently accepted the help offered by the UN. I will also mention the difficulties that have arisen during the Olympic torch relay this year, another subject that we have talked about a bit. It may not seem like much to you, but realize that we're only in the 5th month of the year right now!

So is it possible to change the luckiness of a number? Believe it or not, a small change is happening in the minds of some of the youth, but for now it looks only to be a fad. Once the Olympic games are finished China will probably look back on this year fondly, remembering the lives that were lost while trying to forget all the suffering that occurred. I have posed this question to a few Chinese and they all agree that the number 8 will still retain it's "lucky quality" after all is said and done. The ice storm and earthquake may dampen the mood here, but there's nothing like a good old Olympic games to boost the spirits!

What I find most interesting in all of this is how we as humans search for meaning in anything we can. Whether through relationships, nature, or numbers, we sometimes expect these things to explain our purpose or our lives. But what happens when people come to find out that relationships will let you down, nature produces things like earthquakes, and numbers, as we see here, CAN lie? Hopefully people will begin to look beyond humanity in their search for meaning. We have already seen it in the eyes of many who attended the candlelight vigil last week.

China Remembers the Earthquake

The siren blared outside today. Horns honked. All cars stopped, business suspended. The normal sounds of peddlers, trash collectors, and street sweepers were gone. The time was 2:28pm and the noise marked one week since the devastating earthquake that rocked the very core of China. We were both in bed reading, enjoying our lunch break, when we experienced China mourning. Any person located anywhere in China heard that same awful wail, a country crying together for 3 minutes, and it's not something that can soon be forgotten.

We have just begun the first of three days of national mourning. All flags are at half-mast, all major government offices, both here and in the embassies abroad, have suspended all activities, and even the Olympic torch relay has been delayed. Schools, of course, are still in session and work will continue as usual, but there will be no parties, no banquets and no celebrations. These days are meant to commemorate the lives of those buried under concrete as well as those who have given their life trying to rescue any survivors.

Tonight we attended a candlelight vigil. It was actually an accident that we were there - we had at first intended to go to the swimming pool tonight, but it, along with many other major businesses, has closed its doors for the next three days in remembrance of this tragedy. Since the swimming pool had closed we went to the nearest attraction to hang out which happened to be the newly opened public park. While there we were witness to the gathering of thousands of Chinese people who brought flags, flowers, and signs as well as candles to light together. Poems were read, the national anthem sung, and random cries of "中国加油！" were shouted and repeated (this phrase is roughly translated as a cheer similar to "Go team!" except here it's "Go China!"). It was an honor to be a part of this gathering and even more special to see how people seemed to accept us as foreigners to join with them in their mourning.

Relief efforts and donations have been pouring out of every city in China, and Karamay is no exception. Every teacher here in our city alone has been required to donate 30 yuan for the relief efforts, but most have donated tripled that amount. One English festival we were going to take part in was canceled and all money that would have been used to put it on was donated. Even the bus system in our city advertised that all income from one day of transportation would be donated to the relief effort. I read that 70% of the population has a connection to the Sichuan area in some way or another. I'm not sure how true that percentage is, but it's not unbelievable. Just think, with a population the size of China's, a small donation from every citizen adds up to be a good chunk of money. As of last Friday the people of China had donated the equivalent of over half a billion US dollars toward the relief effort. Wow.

Just so you know, all of this isn't over yet. It won't be over for a while. Yesterday an aftershock registering 6.0 on the Richter scale killed some rescue workers and has hampered relief efforts even more. Despite all the money pouring in, this poor area of China will have a very hard time getting back on its feet. Unlike America where most buildings and families are covered in some way by insurance, it is estimated that only 5% of the $20 billion in damage is insured in this area. Those numbers don't even include the losses that will be felt by families whose only wage-earner has passed away.

Here is our hope: first we hope that America, and especially the organizations of believers, can somehow respond to this with love and support. It hasn't gone unnoticed that Arabian countries have donated far more than America has to help in the relief. Second, and probably most importantly, we hope that the "body" here in China can gather the courage to stand as a comfort, light and monetary relief for their countrymen and women. This is a wonderful opportunity for them and fear or lack of courage has kept them back so far. They need your thoughts. He can turn even a tragedy around into a marvelous representation of His glory.

An Earthquake Strikes Again...

If you have been watching the new recently you know that on Monday, May 12th during midday here in China a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated areas near Chengdu (which we have previously visited), a city in the south-central part of China. We've received quite a few e-mails from friends and family concerned for our safety so we wanted to make sure everybody knew that we are ok.

It is reported at this time that this is the worst earthquake to hit China in the past 3 decades. Over 10,000 people have been confirmed dead, mainly from collapsed buildings in the region where the earthquake hit the hardest. Rescue efforts are still going on and over here in China everybody is talking about it. The newspapers and television stations are covered with reports and pictures from the region. It was the earthquake felt all over the country. Beijing, a city 1,500km away from the epicenter, had streets filled with office workers who were evacuated during the shaking. Even the in Shanghai and across the strait in Taiwan people took measures to ensure their own safety by evacuating or taking shelter. What did we feel over here in XinJiang (about 2,400km away)? Personally, Tiff and I felt nothing, or at least it didn't register in our brains as an earthquake, but teachers and students all throughout our school told us of the shaking they felt yesterday during class.

Please keep these people and their families in your thoughts, as well as for those in our neighboring country of Myanmar. We understand that this is definitely a tragedy, but we also know that even the worst of events can be turned around for His glory.