Two weeks have passed since the earthquake happened in Sichuan province. Many activities have been made to donate to the quake-hit areas by different organizations all over the country. And more and more attention is focused on the heavy earthquake home and abroad. Foreigners in Shenyang, the capital city of Liaoning Province also pay close attention to the earthquake. The journalist interviews Gary, one of the foreign teachers of China Criminal Police College (CCPC) about his thought of the earthquake.

Journalist: I think you have heard the news that a big earthquake happened in Sichuan province this May 12. So what was your feeling when you heard that news?

Gary: I got that news from the internet that evening. And I was shocked at first. Then I heard more news from TV. The number of people who died was over 7000 that night and the number kept rising in the latter days. And I heard that the death toll was still rising now.

Journalist: Chinese government sets three days as the national memorial days and millions of people in China observed three minutes of silence at 2:28 p.m. on Monday to mourn the many killed in the earthquake a week ago. How do you think about this?

Gary: As a foreigner in China I can totally understand this. And the memorial shows the respect to the victims. The big earthquake happened in Sichuan province is not only a disaster of China, it is also a world disaster. Everything changed just in one minute and it is unpredictable. As a teacher, I do much care about the students who lost their lives in the quake. Many schools were destroyed in the earthquake and lots of students were buried in one minute. Many parents lost their children and lots of children will be orphans after the quake. Therefore I am so sad about those who lost their parents and children.

Journalist: The Chinese government has made great efforts to rescue the victims since the earthquake happened. What is your opinion about the measures that the government adopted?

Gary: The Chinese government had a quick response after the earthquake happened. And the Chinese leader who impresses me the most is the Chinese Primer Wen jiabao. I think he really concerns about the people, the victims. I heard from the internet that he flied to the quake-hit areas at the first moment and commanded the rescuing work. He even called a commander to go to a small county where no one had been and to rescue the victims there. What he cares about is the lives of the Chinese people. And he is really a nice person who can be called politician from the foreigner’s view.
 

Journalist: How do you think about the donations spontaneous by the Chinese people and organized by the government?

Gary: I am really impressed by the donations endowed by the Chinese people. No one is unwilled to keep his money and is pleased to raise money for the quake-hit area. I have heard that more than 108 billion yuan had been raised from the Chinese people. The Chinese population is 13 billion, and if you divide that 108 billion yuan by the population, you will find that the money that per person donates is quite a lot.

(liaoning-gateway.com)