China 3 minutes of silence at 14:28 (06:28 GMT) for Earthquake victims

To our readers - we will be back to the business of sourcing from China and Asia later this week. Considering the tragedy, we want to share our form of silence for 3 days with no new posting to commemorate the families and individuals who lost too much. Please see our post on how you can help.

Along with the people of China, we hope you can share 3 minutes of silence this Monday the 18th of May at 14:28 (06:28 GMT) in memory and in hope for the people who suffered and passed in this tragedy.

As reported by the Associated Press (link here), China mourns today.

BEICHUAN, China - Flags flew at half-staff, public entertainment was canceled and 1.3 billion people were asked to observe three minutes of silence as China began three days of mourning Monday for the victims of the nation’s massive earthquake.

Officials asked for the horns of cars, trains and ships and air raid sirens to sound as people fell silent at 2:28 p.m. — exactly one week after the quake splintered thousands of buildings and killed an estimated 50,000 people. Chinese news portal sina.com said the government had ordered all visitors to online entertainment and game pages to be redirected to Web sites dedicated to commemorating earthquake victims.

The Olympic torch relay — a potent symbol of national pride in the countdown to August’s much anticipated Beijing games — was also suspended during the mourning period.

The national flag in Tiananmen Square, which is raised in a solemn ceremony every morning at dawn, fluttered at half staff.

To mark the mourning period, the logos of all newspapers were printed in black and the National Grand Theater canceled or postponed all performances. Trade on China’s stock and commodities exchanges will be suspended for three minutes, the Securities Regulatory Commission said on its Web site.

May 18, 2008 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Wenchuan EarthQuake in Sichuan China - What you can do to help.

As most are now aware, due to the intense worldwide media coverage, there was a massive earthquake in Wenchuan, which is in the middle of Sichuan Province in China. According to official reports, more than 12,000 people died, and there are many more injured or that have lost property. Even in Shenzhen, we are hearing reports of many families in their hometowns whose house has been damaged or destroyed and entire livelihoods have been lost.

The earthquake was a 7.9 on the Richter scale and tremors were felt across China.

The goal of this article is to give thanks to those who covered the earthquake quickly and efficiently within the blogging arena, as their help to get the word out was most helpful in getting donations to assist with the recovery, which is still ongoing.

It’s our pleasure to point our readers to CNReviews.com who put together a comprehensive list of over 24 ways to donate money to help the earthquake recovery effort.

If you haven’t yet contributed, and are financially able to, please don’t hesitate to help with whatever amount you can. For many of our readers, China may be a far off place, but most likely if you’re reading this site, you’re involved with China on some level. Your contribution is appreciated and needed.

Probably the most comprehensive coverage of the Wenchuan earthquake was by the Shanghaiist. It’s also interesting to read AllRoadsLeadToChina.com’s coverage as they have maps of fault lines in China as well as other unique information.

And last but not least, we found a website called ifgogo.com which contains a personal account of the Wenchuan earthquake unfolding with personal pictures and videos. Do note that some of the pictures may not be appropriate for all viewers, but they do begin to show the magnitude of the crisis.

Thank you for reading and sharing this information. Your help is truly appreciated by these organizations but mostly by those people who will never know your name but the universe does and one day the gift you gave will surely be a positive force in your life. May we pray that all those suffering in China are given expedited help and love.