With the upcoming Olympics and the subsequent global attention, the government obviously wants the nation to look its best, which in China sometimes translates to quashing dissent. Two European-based human rights groups working together as the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders recently published a report declaring that the government has stepped up attempts to quiet dissidents, citing four people arrested for Olympic Games protests, including Hu Jia, who was sentenced to three......

One week after last month's deadly Sichuan Earthquake, we brought to you the heartrending story of Chen Jian (陈坚), a young man who was pinned under the rubble for 73 hours, but unfortunately didn't make it after rescuers managed to extract him after working on him for six hours. Today, Zhang Qian (张倩), the reporter who was by Chen Jian's side in his last moments still breaks down whenever she thinks of him. In this......

The previously bustling city of Mianyang (绵阳), Sichuan's second largest city and an important military and nuclear base with a population of 5.7 million, is now nothing but a ghost town. As of June 5, Mianyang had a death toll of 21,963. Another 167,742 were injured, and 8,743 people missing. The remaining residents have been evacuated as the nearby Tangjiashan quake lake threatens to burst anytime soon. Meanwhile, prime minister Wen Jiabao (温家宝) continues to......

USA Today reports that adoption agencies across the United States, particularly the China-only agencies are experiencing a great surge in enquiries after thousands of children were orphaned by the Sichuan earthquake:"There's lots of interest," says Joshua Zhong, co-founder of Chinese Children Adoption International, one of the largest China-only agencies in the USA. He says inquiries have more than tripled since the May 12 quake, which has killed at least 68,109 people and left an estimated......

Looks like mammon does have its way of making people think before they talk. Less than a day after Sharon Stone suggested at the Cannes Film Festival that the Sichuan earthquake was karma for China's treatment of the Tibetans, she has been forced to eat back her words and apologise:"My erroneous words and deeds angered and saddened the Chinese people, and I sincerely apologise for this. I'm willing to participate in any earthquake relief activity......

A powerful, evocative and sombre collection of photos taken by Shanghai-based Canadian photographer Chad Ingraham who has been spending time in Chengdu and Dujiangyan over the last few days.......

The next time you are at Shanghai Centre Element Fresh, be sure to check out what's on the walls as you wait for your order to arrive. Shanghai-based Canadian artist Jeffery Robert Bleazard has donated six of his artworks to the Sichuan Earthquake Charity Art Auction organized by Element Fresh and the paintings will be on display at Shanghai Centre Element Fresh until June 8. Quite appropriately so, four out of the six paintings......

Chinese official, on his knees, begs parents of children killed in quake not to protest [AP] "The image was startling: A Chinese official on his knees, begging. The Communist Party secretary of Mianzhu city pleaded with protesting parents — whose children were killed in a school collapse during China's recent devastating earthquake — not to complain to higher authorities, the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper reported Monday."China finds escaped quake panda [Reuters] "China has recaptured a......

Selena Hsu of Current TV visits the Jiuzhou Stadium in Mianyang and discovers that while some parents have lost their children and everything else in life, they are more than willing to adopt someone else's child orphaned by the earthquake. [h/t to Danwei] Related link If you're thinking of adoption.........

Yes, you heard that right. Just when we thought it was all over, another one has struck. This was the strongest aftershock since the deadly quake, but for such a strong aftershock (6.4 on the Richter scale) which managed to topple 70,000 houses and leave anothor 200,000 in danger of collapse, the death toll was pretty low at two and another several hundred more injured. Our friend, Jane Voodikon, editor of Chengdoo magazine informs us......

We've all seen over the last week how the cruel earthquake has left parents without children and children without parents. As the focus now turns to healing and restoration for survivors and giving them tools with which to pick up the broken pieces of their lives, the government has now begun to disseminate information on active steps that concerned individuals considering adoption of children and babies orphaned by the disaster can take. Here is some......

Photo by Jakob Montrasio The turnout last night was phenomenal! The lines flowed out the door and onto the streets, the beer taps ran dry, no could hear the raffle winners’ names, and the BBQ queue was unbelievable… but, beautifully, no one seemed to care. Much to our surprise and delight, 728 people attended the Benefit BBQ and contributed 131,040 RMB. (One manager who has worked at Sasha’s for years, said she has never......

Via Speak4China which is rapidly becoming one of our favourite blogs: Shortly after Chinese netizens launched a "human flesh search engine" and elicited a tearful response from a group of three Sichuan students for their earthquake interview prank, the online lynch mobs have quickly found a new target in a Liaoning girl by the name of Gao Qianhui (高千惠). But this time we think that she kinda deserved it. First let's check out her crime,......

Left: A man by the name of Ma Yuanjiang was rescued alive by the Shanghai rescue team 179 hours after the quake. Doctors were surprised that this man could survive for so long without a single drop of water. By the next morning Ma was already able to take light food and converse with nurses. He told nurses that he could survive for so long only because he found a companion in another woman......

Scuffles between aid volunteers and survivors of earthquake broke out in Mianyang, as victims struggled to find water and food supplies. [May 19] Teachers set up makeshift classrooms in Xiang'e, an area of China hit hard by the earthquake, in order to keep the children safe. Massive graves after the earthquake in JingXiu in China [May 17] Fears of new quake cause panic in Chengdu. Thousands of people flee the capital of Sichuan.......

This set of powerful pictures were shot during a wedding photo shoot in Pengzhou, Sichuan when the earthquake struck. All survived the disaster but it looked like one old and very beautiful looking building was badly damaged by the tremors. Click here to view larger pictures if you find the photo effects too annoying. [h/t to China Digital Times]......

Shanghaiist has been nonstop busy for the past several days fielding emails and returning calls from companies interested in donating to the raffle at ‘The Great Shanghaiist Benefit for Earthquake Victims at Sasha's’. It’s a great reason to feel overworked. How the raffle works: Everyone who attends the BBQ for dinner will get one chance to win a prize. If you want to donate additional money to our designated charity, the Foundation for Poverty Alleviation,......

Yet more notes from the field forwarded to us by our friends from Chengdoo: LATEST>>> From Sina.com: "BEIJING, May 19 -- Sichuan Earthquake Administration announced tonight that aftershocks between 6-7 on the Richter scale are likely to hit Wenchuan County of Sichuan Province between May 19-20, according to China News Service." http://english.sina.com/china/1/2008/0519/160448.html This message circulated around the SMS and phone network as soon as it was reported around 10 p.m. As of 3:05 a.m., it......

Via a new blog called Speak4China which comes with the hearty recommendation of the China Law Blog: On the day the Wenchuan earthquake struck, these students from a Sichuan high school were evacuated from their building and to while away their time, they took this video of themselves pretending to do an earthquake interview on live television. One girl said she didn't care about her parents and only for the pop duo Twins, another said......

With over 30,000 dead, another tens of thousands missing, and 200,000 injured, coupled with a broken down mobile/land line and transportation system, many people are on a frantic search for each other, and Google mobilised 100 of its employees to help create a custom search engine entirely dedicated to helping people find their friends and loved ones. Other nifty tools found on this feature-rich page include Google Maps integrated with the latest earthquake and relief......

Scenes captured across Chengdu during the three minutes of silence, when all of China ground to a halt yesterday. For many Chengdu-ites, this earthquake has hit very, very close to home: After the three minutes of silence at Tiananmen Square, the crowds broke out into unanimous chants of "Long live China!" (中国万岁！) and “Go Wenchuan Go!" (汶川加油！). Similar scenes also broke out in gatherings in other major cities, and some a lot more emotional than......

China-based Twitterers too observed a 3 minute silence on the 3 minute silence that took place from 14:28 to 14:31 just now to mark the first of three days of national mourning, and this is what they said immediately afterwards. inwalkedbud There was just a moment of 'silence' for the earthquake. Cars stopped and blasted their horns for three minutes, whilst people watched. xiaomiao Is that the Chinese interpretation of "silence"? Still, whatever it was,......

Several tales of motherly love have emerged and are being repeated throughout several Chinese stations and media:One mother was found buried dead while still suckling her three month old.One picture of a female police officer Jiang Xiaojuan has been making its rounds on the internet. A new mother herself, Jiang has been breastfeeding eight babies orphaned by the quake.A third baby was found by rescue workers alive in the arms of his mother who......

It's early Monday morning and the China twitterati are abuzz with the news that all major Chinese web sites have been ordered to shutdown for the three days of national mourning which begins today. Here is an announcement sent out by the government in Hefei, Anhui, followed by Shanghaiist's translation. Good reason to believe similar announcements have been sent in other provinces and municipalities:各市、县委宣传部，各市、县网宣办（外宣办），省直各厅局，各有关网站： To all propaganda departments, online propaganda units and foreign affairs offices,......

Forwarded to us from our new friends at Chengdu's English-language magazine Chengdoo (Thanks Joe and Jane!). We are posting these up because the needs are real and time-sensitive. Many have died, but the living need help too. Now. Many areas of help are needed right now, so feel free to read through each of these and make a decision for yourself which cause is closest to your heart and which organisation you'd like to support.......

ESWN draws our attention the heart-rending story of Chen Jian. Be very sure you watch all the way to the fourth video, or don't watch at all if you don't intend to cry today: Part 1: It's May 15 at the start of this video, and 26 year old Chen Jian has already been trapped under the rubble for 73 hours. While waiting for the lifting equipment to arrive, he chatted with the reporter Zhang......

"Any trivial matter multiplied by 1.3 billion will become a big problem;Any astronomical figure divided by 1.3 billion will become a tiny number."一个很小的问题，乘以13亿，都会变成一个大问题；一个很大的总量，除以13亿，都会变成一个小数目。 — Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (温家宝) — "A little kindness multiplied by 1.3 billion will become an ocean of love;A great problem divided by 1.3 billion will become a trivial matter."一点很小的善心，乘以13亿，都会变成爱的海洋；一个很大的困难，除以13亿，都会变得微不足道。 — Chinese netizens have turned Wen's quote above into a widely-distributed Internet meme in the wake of the Sichuan earthquake......

The official death toll in the Sichuan earthquake has been revised upwards to 32,477. Deaths have also been recorded in Gansu, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Henan, Hubei and Yunnan. Within Sichuan, the Mianyang and Deyang regions suffered the most fatalities, with estimated deaths of 11,874 and 10,341 respectively. 209,900 people are reported injured, and the final death toll is expected to exceed 50,000Four foreign teams from Russia, Singapore, Japan and Korea have been allowed in to take......

UPDATE: More than RMB 20,000 in lucky draw prizes donated so far! More details here. What: Shanghaiist’s Benefit for Sichuan’s Earthquake Victims When: This Wednesday- May 21st, 2008 Where: Sasha’s Restaurant and Bar (rain or shine) 11 Dongping Lu, near Hengshan Lu (东平路11弄，近衡山路) Time: 6pm-10pm The Deal: BBQ with sausages, burgers, chicken kebabs, short ribs, salad bar, AND free flow Stella Artois beer. Veggie options will also be available. Cost: 180RMB (100% of proceeds,......

Scene of devastation at Juyuan Middle School (聚源中学) in Dujiangyan (都江堰) The government has announced the start of a massive probe to find out why close to 7,000 schools classrooms have been destroyed and promised that anyone found responsible for shoddy construction will be severely punished. A great many of the casualties we've seen so far are students and teachers who were still in class when the quake struck. From AFP:"If quality problems do......