Karma?

I just came back home from a dinner gathering and turned on my computer. My MSN was logged in. I saw a very strong comment against a Hollywood celebrity from a friend on MSN. I was puzzled. When I checked the Yahoo! entertainment news, I found out what happened. Sharon Stone's comments on Sichuan earthquake were indeed infuriating. What a Chinese TV host wrote in her blog reflects what I thought about Sharon Stone.

For those who can't read Chinese, here is a brief summary of the blog post.

What kind of Karma will Sharon Stone's comments on Sichuan earthquake bring to her?

Hundreds and thousands of people have died in the earthquake. Many more are and will be suffering for years to come. Sharon Stone's comments show she is insensitive and indifferent to life to people. This is frightening!!! Based on her logic, it could be that the Katrina in 2005 was the result of "bad karma" over the US government's invading Iraq. I'm certain that she wouldn't say that to her American fellows, even in her private home. However, she said in a public TV interview that the devastating May 12 earthquake in China could have been the result of bad karma over the government's treatment of Tibet. This shows she is not only ignorant, but also arrogant and biased.

Earthquake Prediction

It has been more than one week since the earthquake devastated Sichuan, China on May 12, 2008. I'm still searching and reading the news on the earthquake constantly. Am I having PMS right now?

I found an article on Wikipedia titled 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. It mentioned two academic studies that predicted possibility of a big earthquake in Sichuan in 2008. One study published in 2002 in a Chinese seismology journal "Recent Developments in World Seismology" analyzed the frequency and intervals of earthquakes happened in Sichuan since 1800 and concluded that

"Beginning with 2003 we should pay more attention to the possibility of an earthquake of M ≥7.0 occurring in Sichuan Province"

The other study published in "Journal of Catastrophology" in Chinese in 2006 analyzed all the M>6.7 earthquakes in Sichuan and Yunan region and found the trend that every 25 years a M≥6.7 earthquake would occur in the region. The article predicts that the Sichuan-Yunnan region may experience a M≥6.7 earthquake in 2008!!!!!

Note: The links to the full articles are embedded in the text.

On the Way to School on a Sunny Day

Mixed Feelings

I became very upset every time when I read the news about the earthquake in China. It is very sad to see people, specially the young ones suffer.

Parents are still desperately waiting for helps to get their child out from the rubbles.

A nurse is saving other people's life while her own child is still under the rubbles.

A teacher saved 13 students, but died on the way out.

Soldiers are crying because they couldn't save school kids under the rubbles due to the late arrival of the proper equipment.

However, I don't think I can just simply not read or watch any news about the earthquake. It happened at where I was born and raised. I have friends and family live there. My parents haven't heard back from all of their friends in Sichuan. We still have relatives who still spend nights in the big open space. How can I ignore it? How I can pretend it didn't happen.

It is great to see and hear the prompt response of the Chinese government and military. Prime minister Wen Jiaobao flew to Sichuan very soon when the disaster happened (with only 5 casualties reported at that time). NPR and NYT reported that the Chinese government handled the disaster as if they were the public elected officials. Comparing the response of George W. Bush to Katrina, who received the news from his assistant in a DVD the next day, I can say the responses of Wen have been way much better. A reader's comment on a Editorial in Washingtonpost put it in a much better way.

Looks like the Chinese have a pretty effective FEMA. I wonder why they didn't come over and help with Katrina. And if our paranoid jingoistic government objected, I am sure the UN would have authorized sending them in anyway.
Hopefully. they will next time.

However, one thing that strikes me the most is the school buildings and lost of student lives in the towns and cities nearby the epicenter of the earthquake. I'd like to see the investigations on those school and hospital buildings after the disaster relief, as I haven't heard many reports on the collapsed of the governmental buildings.

Random thoughts

My parents were traveling in Sichuan for 2 months last year this time. They have friends and family live in different cities in Sichuan. They went to Chengdu, Doujiangyan, Mianyang, Ya'an, etc. Earlier this year, they were planning on going there again in May. They changed their plan because I'll visit them and they want to wait for me to go there together in August.

A few days ago, when news reported that cyclone devastated Burma, I treated it as a piece of news. On the other hand, when I heard the news of earthquake in Sichuan yesterday, I was shocked, and started to worry, and became upset. It is true that I was born in Sichuan. I have spent more than 15 years there. I have been to most of the cities reported in the news. I have friends and family there. Personal connections dramatically change my attitudes, feelings, and behaviors. At the end, I'm still a selfish little human.

Earthquake in Sichuan--Part 2

I talked to my parents. They are safe.

My parents couldn't reach my mother's relatives who live in Sichuan until this morning. Those who live in Fulin, Sichuan have some impacts. They had to spend one night outside their home. Their houses might have some damages as well.

I'm relief. They're all safe at least.

Earthquake in Sichuan

When I got to the lab this morning, one of my labmates asked me if I heard the news about the earthquake in China. My heart was immediately hanging in the air. "Which region?" I asked. "Sichuan." I was a bit relief because my parents live quite far away from Sichuan. At the same time, I started to worry since many of my mother's relatives live in Sichuan. The first thing I did when I turned on my computer was to check the news.

NPR:

The deadly 7.8 magnitude quake hit China Monday afternoon — Xinhua News Agency reports that more than 8,533 people have been killed in the devastation. The quake flattened at least eight schools and one hospital, and its force was felt hundreds of miles away in Beijing and Shanghai.

I can't wait to call my parents......

Foreign Policy of Modern China

I'm finally taking a class whose context I'm familiar with. I have experienced or known all the events included in this week's reading for the class, Foreign Policy of Modern China.

I was an elementary school student in 1989 when June 4 accident happened. I was in high school in 1996 when the book--China can Say No--became popular. I was a sophomore in college in 1999 when the US bombed the Chinese embassy in Balgrade. I was about to graduate from college in 2001 when a Chinese F-8 jet fighter and an American EP-3 surveillance plane collided over the South China Sea. I have witnessed some of the reactions of the Chinese people towards all the events mentioned above.

Beginning the new school year right after June 4 event in 1989, all freshmen in college were required to have military training before the school started. That was still going on even in 1997 the year I entered college.

Of course, I heard of the book, China can Say No. People talked about it all the time: on TV, at work, in their spare time, etc.

In 1999 when the US bombed the Chinese embassy in Balgrade, my college schoolmates were so infuriated that many went to the protest in front of the US consular in Chengdu. I remember there was an English teacher who was from the US in my department in 1999. He was quite frightened. When he got into the classroom, he was so relieved that we didn't show that we wanted to beat him up. Even though the western media claimed that the protest was organized by the government, I believe it is very likely that the western media was fear of the popularity of Chinese nationalist.

When a Chinese F-8 jet fighter and an American EP-3 surveillance plane collided over the South China Sea and the secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld went crazy in 2001, many people I know were enraged. If the government had permitted another protest, I believe similar things like those in 1999 would have happened.

It was quite interesting for me to read articles and books discussing all the events and the Chinese public reactions to those events.

Korean Wave

Rain was ranked second on the TIME online poll on "who you thought should be on the list of the 100 most influential people of the year". His votes are much ahead of the number three: Stephen Colbert. Time described the result as a surprise. Well, Time is an American magazine and almost all of people listed in the Time 100 are Americans.

I bet most of Americans or Europeans do not know about or even have heard of Rain. Since I have lived in the US for a long time, personally, I don't know much about Rain either. However, I have heard of my Korean friends, Chinese friends, Taiwanese friends, etc. enthusiastically discuss Rain's TV dramas, songs, concerts, etc. If the director of Speed Racer have given the leading role to Rain, I believe the movie will attract much more worldwide audience, particularly more Asian audience.