Quake death toll 'nonsense'

ALMOST a year to the day after the massive Sichuan earthquake levelled hundreds of schools, sparking allegations of corruption and shoddy construction, China yesterday gave its first official tally of the numbers of students dead or missing: 5,335.

The government began its count hours after the magnitude-7.9 tremor razed huge portions of the south-western province on 12 May, 2008, but it has refused until now to say how many students were among the nearly 90,000 people killed or missing. Another five million were made homeless.

Thousands of classrooms collapsed while buildings around them remained intact. It has become a politically charged issue and an enduring source of bitterness for parents trying to find answers. Parents say the schools crumbled so easily because corruption and mismanagement led to slipshod construction and weak buildings that were not up to code. Some say materials meant for school construction projects were sold on the side by contractors for personal gain.

So far no-one has been held responsible or punished.

Officials, however, blame the sheer power of the quake and have said confirming the names of the students was a complicated process.

"According to our investigations and samples we have taken, we have not found any case of buildings that collapsed in the earthquake zone mainly because of construction quality," Yang Hongbo, head of Sichuan's construction department, was quoted on a website run by the provincial government.

Grieving parents were sceptical of the toll.

"Announcing the numbers won't bring us any consolation," said Liu Xiaobin, whose 11-year-old son was killed when the three-story Fuxin No 2 Primary School sank into the ground and the rest of the neighbourhood remained standing. "We want the government to investigate the situation."

Liu and other parents have petitioned and protested, only to be detained or warned against speaking out. Activists have been harassed or taken away by police.

Ai Weiwei, an avant-garde artist and high-profile critic of Beijing's policies, said yesterday's announcement appeared to show that the "pressure of the common people, pressure from the media" had made some difference. But he said it was still an empty gesture.

"It didn't give any names or any other information on where they died, which schools or which classes they were in," Ai said. "This is nonsense."

In his blog, Ai has confirmed almost 5,000 student names and estimates that the toll could reach 8,000. At least 20 of his helpers have been detained by local authorities, he said.

Tan Zuoren, another activist who conducted his own investigation into 64 schools in the quake zone, estimated that more than 5,600 students died or were missing. Tan, who has been detained on suspicion of subversion, said that number was incomplete.

Liu Xiaoying, whose 12-year-old daughter was also killed in the Fuxin No 2 School, said she is sure that the number of dead children is much higher.

"I hope the investigation will continue and that the people responsible will be seriously punished," said Liu, who is under tight surveillance after travelling to Beijing twice to petition the central government.