China declared three days of national mourning for victims of the Sichuan earthquake and suspended the Olympic torch relay as the nation's most famous rescuer said the search for survivors would go on. "My soldiers are right now rescuing people. Every day we are pulling people out," said Wang Yi, commander of Unit 8740 of the People's Armed Police Force. "We are very far from the rebuilding process. Our priority is still saving lives."Mr Wang led 670 officers to the town of Wenchuan, at the quake epicentre, after hiking for 21 hours in driving rain, and has featured prominently in media coverage of the rescue efforts. His soldiers have rescued 407 people and evacuated 3,700 to safety from Wenchuan. "I am an ordinary soldier, that's all," Mr Wang said. "We rescued many people from the debris in Wenchuan. The villages were the most affected, the city itself was less damaged. Some of the villages were completely flattened."
China declared three days of national mourning for victims of the Sichuan earthquake and suspended the Olympic torch relay as the nation's most famous rescuer said the search for survivors would go on.
"My soldiers are right now rescuing people. Every day we are pulling people out," said Wang Yi, commander of Unit 8740 of the People's Armed Police Force. "We are very far from the rebuilding process. Our priority is still saving lives."
Mr Wang led 670 officers to the town of Wenchuan, at the quake epicentre, after hiking for 21 hours in driving rain, and has featured prominently in media coverage of the rescue efforts. His soldiers have rescued 407 people and evacuated 3,700 to safety from Wenchuan. "I am an ordinary soldier, that's all," Mr Wang said. "We rescued many people from the debris in Wenchuan. The villages were the most affected, the city itself was less damaged. Some of the villages were completely flattened."
BEIJING - China's deadliest earthquake in a generation has jarred Chinese who expected to be reveling in anticipation of the Beijing Olympics. In less dramatic ways, the disaster is shifting perceptions between China and the world, deflating the contentiousness building around the games.Newspaper front pages and all-news television around the world have filled with sympathetic coverage since the quake battered a vast, mountainous area, killing tens of thousands. The authoritarian Chinese government's rapid, full-throttle rescue and the unprecedented flow of news it has allowed have enabled ordinary Chinese and foreigners to share in the immense tragedy. More than just knocking bad press about the Beijing games out of the news, the disaster has given China and the world a chance to reassess. Foreign audiences, especially in the West, are empathizing with the Chinese perhaps more than any at time since democracy demonstrators occupied Tiananmen Square 19 years ago. At the same time, the quake's devastation has diminished the importance for Chinese of Olympics in August and the accolades from abroad that a spectacular Games was supposed to bring.
BEIJING - China's deadliest earthquake in a generation has jarred Chinese who expected to be reveling in anticipation of the Beijing Olympics. In less dramatic ways, the disaster is shifting perceptions between China and the world, deflating the contentiousness building around the games.
Newspaper front pages and all-news television around the world have filled with sympathetic coverage since the quake battered a vast, mountainous area, killing tens of thousands. The authoritarian Chinese government's rapid, full-throttle rescue and the unprecedented flow of news it has allowed have enabled ordinary Chinese and foreigners to share in the immense tragedy. More than just knocking bad press about the Beijing games out of the news, the disaster has given China and the world a chance to reassess. Foreign audiences, especially in the West, are empathizing with the Chinese perhaps more than any at time since democracy demonstrators occupied Tiananmen Square 19 years ago. At the same time, the quake's devastation has diminished the importance for Chinese of Olympics in August and the accolades from abroad that a spectacular Games was supposed to bring.
Newspaper front pages and all-news television around the world have filled with sympathetic coverage since the quake battered a vast, mountainous area, killing tens of thousands. The authoritarian Chinese government's rapid, full-throttle rescue and the unprecedented flow of news it has allowed have enabled ordinary Chinese and foreigners to share in the immense tragedy.
More than just knocking bad press about the Beijing games out of the news, the disaster has given China and the world a chance to reassess.
Foreign audiences, especially in the West, are empathizing with the Chinese perhaps more than any at time since democracy demonstrators occupied Tiananmen Square 19 years ago. At the same time, the quake's devastation has diminished the importance for Chinese of Olympics in August and the accolades from abroad that a spectacular Games was supposed to bring.
