Chinese people will observe 3 days mourning for the Wenchuen Earthquake victims starting today at 14:28 Beijing Time, exactly 1 week from the time of the first quake.
In this period, all Chinese are requested to observe 3 minutes of silence and all ships in port, trains and automobiles to sound their horns out of respect to the victims.
Of course, anyone who wishes to may join in solidarity with the Chinese people is most welcome.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all Kos members/visitors who have provided moral support and material aid to the Chinese people in this time of need.
Today an aircraft containing tents, lanterns and 15,000 meals arrived in Chengdu and I'm sure this will bring great releif to the suvivors and rescue workers who have been working non-stop for one week now. Now that transportation channels to the devistated areas have been established, this aid should arrive to the needy quickly.
Your kindness is truely appreciated by the Chinese people.
谢谢您 !
::
More information follows the fold.
::
The following links to articles in English report the story:
BBC News
MSNBC News
MmeVoltaire's Dkos Diary 2008-05-18
BeijingBetty's Dkos Diary 2008-05-19
Updated Links
::
As it now stands, and estimated 50,000 people died and more than 220,000 were seriously injured in the quakes. Aftershocks continue as they will and yesterday a 6.0 shock claimed 3 more victims. The initial quake has been uprated to 8.0, being the most severe in modern Chinese history.
::
Should you care to join the periods of silence, the following times correlate to 14:28 Beijing Time for the start of the observation:
Eastern Sichuan, CHINA
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 06:28:01 (UTC) - Coordinated Universal Time
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 02:28:01 PM local time at epicenter
North America
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 03:58:01 AM (NDT) - Newfoundland Daylight (St. John's)
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 03:28:01 AM (ADT) - Atlantic Daylight (Halifax)
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 02:28:01 AM (AST) - Atlantic Standard (San Juan)
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 02:28:01 AM (EDT) - Eastern Daylight (New York, Toronto)
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 01:28:01 AM (EST) - Eastern Standard (Jamaica)
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 01:28:01 AM (CDT) - Central Daylight (Winnipeg, Chicago, Mexico City)
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 12:28:01 AM (CST) - Central Standard (Regina, Costa Rica)
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 12:28:01 AM (MDT) - Mountain Daylight (Calgary, Denver Mazatlan)
Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 11:28:01 PM (MST) - Mountain Standard (Phoenix)
Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 11:28:01 PM (PDT) - Pacific Daylight (Vancouver, Los Angeles, Tijuana)
Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 10:28:01 PM (AKDT) - Alaska Daylight (Anchorage)
Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 09:28:01 PM (AHDT) - Aleutian Daylight (Adak)
Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 08:28:01 PM (HST) - Hawaii Standard (Honolulu)
South America
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 01:28:01 AM - Bogota, Quito, Lima
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 02:28:01 AM - Caracas, Manaus, La Paz, Santiago
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 03:28:01 AM - Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires
Europe
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 07:28:01 AM - London, Lisbon
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 08:28:01 AM - Madrid, Rome, Berlin, Warsaw
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 09:28:01 AM - Kiev, Istanbul, Athens
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 10:28:01 AM - Moscow, St. Petersburg
Africa
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 06:28:01 AM - Casablanca, Abidjan
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 07:28:01 AM - Algiers, Lagos, Kinshasa
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 08:28:01 AM - Lusaka, Cape Town
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 09:28:01 AM - Cairo, Addis Ababa, Nairobi
Asia
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 09:28:01 AM - Ankara, Damascus, Riyadh
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 09:58:01 AM - Tehran, Mashhad
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 10:28:01 AM - Baghdad, Muscat
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 10:58:01 AM - Kabul
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 11:28:01 AM - Samara, Baku, Tashkent, Karachi
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 11:58:01 AM - Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 12:28:01 PM - Yekaterinburg, Almaty, Dhaka
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 01:28:01 PM - Novosibirsk, Bangkok, Jakarta
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 02:28:01 PM - Krasnoyarsk, Beijing, Manila, Singapore
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 03:28:01 PM - Irkutsk, Seoul, Tokyo
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 04:28:01 PM - Chita, Guam
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 05:28:01 PM - Vladivostok
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 06:28:01 PM - Magadan
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 07:28:01 PM - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy
Australasia/Oceania
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 02:28:01 PM - Perth
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 03:58:01 PM - Darwin, Adelaide
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 04:28:01 PM - Port Moresby, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 05:28:01 PM - Solomon Islands, Vanuatu
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 06:28:01 PM - Fiji, Auckland, Christchurch
Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 07:28:01 PM - American Samoa
Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 08:28:01 PM - Tahiti
::
As the rescure and recovery efforts continue to unfold, I plan to post at least one more Diary in the next week to share information and thoughts with you.
Peace.