TangshanEarthquake

　　XuXuejiang,themanwhoblewthewhistleonthedeathtollfromtheTangshanearthquake30yearsago,recentlyrecountedhowhebrokehissilencetorevealthatthequakehadclaimed240,000lives,afigurethathadkeptsecretforthreeyears.

　　TheTangshanearthquake,whichdevastatednorthChina'sHebeiProvincein1976,wasaneventsurroundedbyspeculation,guessworkandrumorsbecausenoofficialinformationaboutwhathadactuallyhappenedorcasualtiessustainedwasmadeavailable.

　　Xuconsidershisexperienceisstillrelevanttotoday'sChina,whichhasjustdraftedalawtargetinglocalofficialsguiltyofcover-upsandmediathatgiveincorrectinformationaboutdisasters,accidentsandotheremergencies.

　　InNovember1979,Xu,thenareporterwithXinhuaNewsAgencyandlaterdeputychiefeditor,inadvertentlygotwindofdetailsabouttheearthquakeattheinauguralmeetingofChina'sSeismologicalSocietyheldinDalian,aportcityinnortheastChina'sLiaoningProvince.

　　ItwasthefirsttimethatofficialfiguresfromtheTangshanearthquakeweremadeavailable."Itwasabigstorythatthecountryandtheworldhadlongbeenwaitingfor.IfeltIhadtouseeverypossiblemeanstobringittothepublic,"Xusaid.

　　Hequicklywroteastoryandsubmittedittothemeeting'sgeneralsecretary,thenanofficialwiththeStateSeismologicalBureau,forfurtherverification.

　　Butsomepersuasiononhispartwasnecessary:"Theearthquakehappenedmorethanthreeyearsago.Therehasbeentoomuchhearsaybecausenoofficialstatisticshaveyetbeenreleased.TheHongKongmediaevenclaimedthatthedeathtollwasover700,000.It'sbettertotellthetruthratherthancoverthingsup,"Xusaidtothegeneralsecretary.

　　"Thismeetingisagoodopportunity.Ifthenewscomesfromaconferenceonseismology,itlooksmorenaturalthananabruptofficialannouncementandmeansthatnoexplanationaboutthethree-yearpostponementisneeded,"Xuwheedled.

　　Xuhadtofurtherconvincetheofficialthattimewasoftheessence:"Itmustbepublishedtoday,andwilllosealotofimpactifdelayed."

　　"It'snotaman-madedisaster,andthedeathshavenodirectrelationwiththegovernment,"Xuinsisted.

　　Thegeneralsecretary,finallyconvinced,didnotseekinstructionsfromhigher-levelofficialsandapprovedthestoryforpublicationbyXinhua.

　　Thestoryshockedthecountryandgeneratedsharpcriticism.SomegovernmentdepartmentsarguedthatXinhuaoughtnottohave"divulgedastatesecret."Xinhua,however,firmlysupportedXu'sdecisiontoreportthestory.

　　Xusaidthat,onthe30thanniversaryoftheearthquake,itisworthlookingbackatthisunusualexperience.

　　"Ihopethatboththegovernmentandthemediawilllearnalessonfromthisandfurtherimprovecoverageofmajornaturaldisastersandotheremergencies,"hesaid.

　　Reportingdeathsfromnaturalcalamitiesusedtobetabooforgovernmentofficials.Analystsbelievethatduringtheplannedeconomyperiodfromtheearly1950stothelate1970s,thegovernmentfearedthatexposingdeathfiguresmighttarnishitsimage,drawblamefromthepublic,ortriggersocialturmoil.

　　ButtheoutbreakofSevereAcuteRespiratorySyndrome(SARS)in2003,andinparticularthesackingofthemayorofBejingandMinisterofHealthforcoveringupthe