4TH LD: More than 63,000 feared dead, missing as China mourns quake victims

Asian Economic News, May 19, 2008

BEIJING, May 19 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING HOMELESS FIGURE, FOREIGN MINISTRY QUOTE)

China came to a standstill Monday as it observed three minutes of silence to commemorate the victims of last week's massive earthquake.

The national act of remembrance came as state media reported that about 63,500 people are now feared dead or missing in the disaster.

In Beijing, tens of thousands of cars stopped in the road and sounded their horns at 2:28 p.m., exactly one week after the earthquake with a magnitude of 8 struck in Sichuan Province.

Pedestrians also stood in silence in the streets with their heads bowed as a mark of respect for those who died.

State TV showed thousands gathered at Tiananmen Square -- the symbolic heart of the nation -- with many in tears and waving national flags as the three minutes of silence ended.

Television pictures also showed similar scenes around the country, including rescue workers briefly halting work in the disaster zone.

A Japanese rescue team working in Beichuan County near the epicenter of the quake also stood in silence at the site of a destroyed middle school to remember the dead.

One newscaster appeared close to tears as the three minutes of silence ended, saying China will overcome the hardships created by the disaster.

An office worker in Beijing who observed the show of remembrance, Zhang Wei, 25, said the disaster had united China in grief.

''The whole country is shocked by what happened in Sichuan. This is a good way to show that our thoughts are with them,'' she said.

The Chinese government has declared three days of national mourning as the number feared dead or missing in the disaster rises.

The official Xinhua News Agency said 34,073 people are now known to have died in the disaster. The authorities in Sichuan said earlier Monday that 29,418 are also unaccounted for.

Meanwhile, state media reported that two women who had been buried under rubble in the quake zone for nearly a week have been found alive.

A 50-year-old woman was found in a collapsed residential building near a coal mine after she had spent nearly 165 hours trapped under rubble, Xinhua reported. She is said to be critically ill and has been taken to hospital.

The other woman, 61, was rescued in Beichuan County about half an hour earlier, the report said.

The government has ordered all public entertainment to be suspended for the next three days, including a ban on cinemas screening movies, and Olympic organizers have halted the Olympic torch relay around China for the same period as a mark of respect for the dead.

Newspaper mastheads were printed in black ink, instead of the customary red, with some front pages urging Chinese to remember and honor those killed in the disaster.

A commentary published by Xinhua said national days of mourning have previously only been held in honor of state leaders.

The article compared the disaster in Sichuan with the quake in Tangshan in northern Hebei Province in 1976 when the authorities concealed the fact that more than 240,000 had died.

''China's own national mourning day is more than an adoption of international practice, but also a display of humanism and respect for life in a more open civil society,'' it said. ''Memories of China's past still cling to us as we bow our heads and mourn for the dead.''

In Hong Kong and Macao, daily life in the two Chinese territories also came to a halt for three minutes at 2:28 p.m.

The Hong Kong government, the Legislative Council, Beijing's representative offices, schools, banks, the Hong Kong financial markets, public transport, and theme parks all suspended services to mourn quake victims.

The firework display at Disneyland on Monday, the daily light show at night and the twice-weekly horse racing scheduled for Wednesday have all been canceled, while government buildings, most private companies and schools will fly their flags at half-mast for three days.

The Ministry of Transport in Beijing said Monday that more than 200 relief workers clearing roads in the disaster zone have been buried in landslides in recent days, Xinhua reported.

About 4.8 million people are living in temporary shelters in quake-hit areas, according to figures released by the authorities in Sichuan, and the government has asked overseas donors to help supply more tents to help relief efforts.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement, ''China requests the international community donate tents as a priority because many houses were destroyed in the earthquake and because it is the rainy season.''

Meanwhile, the final group of tourists stranded in the earthquake zone, three elderly Taiwanese, were flown to safety by helicopter Monday, Xinhua reported. The other 11 in their tour group were rescued Sunday, the report said.

(With reporting by Matthew Lee in Hong Kong)