Tangshan Earthquake Still Shaking up China´s Officialdom

Source: Xinhuanet

07-28-2006 10:20

Xu Xuejiang, the person who revealed the Tangshan earthquake death toll, recently recounted how he broke the story about the 240,000 deaths, a figure kept secret for three years.

Xu considers his experience is still relevant to today's China, which has just drafted a law targeting local officials who cover up casualties and media who give incorrect information about disasters, accidents and other emergencies.

The devastating Tangshan earthquake, which rocked north China's Hebei province 30 years ago, led to wild guesses and rumors, because no official information about what happened and how many people were killed was then available.

In November 1979, Xu, then a reporter with Xinhua News Agency and later promoted to deputy chief editor, unexpectedly heard details about the earthquake at the inaugural meeting of China's Seismological Society held in Dalian, a port city in northeast China's Liaoning Province.

It was the first time that authoritative figures about the Tangshan earthquake had become available. "It was a big story that the country and the world had long been waiting for. I felt I had to use every possible means to bring it to the public," Xu said.

He quickly wrote up the story and then submitted it to the meeting's general secretary, then an official with the State Seismological Bureau, for further verification.

"The earthquake happened more than three years ago. There has been too much hearsay because no official statistics have yet been released. The Hong Kong media even claimed that the death toll was over 700,000. It's better to tell the truth rather than cover things up," said Xu, trying to persuade the general secretary to agree with his report.

"This meeting is a good opportunity. If the news comes from a conference on seismology, it looks more natural than an abrupt official announcement and means that no explanation about the three-year postponement is needed," Xu wheedled.

Though the story was already so late, Xu had to reason with the official about the time significance for news reporting. "It must be published today, and will lose a lot of impact if delayed."

"It's not a man-made disaster, and the deaths have no direct relation with the government," Xu insisted. The general secretary, finally convinced, did not seek instructions from higher-level officials and approved the story for publication by Xinhua.

The story shocked the country and generated some sharp criticism. Some government departments argued with Xinhua, saying it should not "divulge a state secret". Xinhua, however, firmly supported Xu's coverage.

Xu said that, on the 30th anniversary of the earthquake, it is worth looking back at this unusual experience.

"I hope that both the government and the media will learn a lesson from this case and further improve coverage of major natural disasters and other emergencies," he said.

Reporting deaths from natural calamities used to be taboo for government officials. Analysts believe that during the planned economy period from the early 1950s to the late 1970s, the government feared that exposing death figures might tarnish its image, draw blame from the public, or trigger social turmoil.

But the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003, and in particular the sacking of the mayor of Bejing and Minister of Health for covering up the death toll during the crisis, has prompted the government to become more transparent.

Last September, the National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets and the Ministry of Civil Affairs jointly declared that death tolls in natural disasters and related information were no longer state secrets.

"Society is progressing," Xu said, adding that the government has now established "openness", "transparency" and "people first" as its new principles of governance.

Editor:Wang Ping