China's premier is hero of quake rescue effort

China's premier is hero of quake rescue effort
China's premier is hero of quake rescue effort

By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press Writer Sat May 17, 3:47 AM ET

BEIJING - The popular hero of China's earthquake rescue effort isn't a strapping firefighter or a seasoned cop — it's the country's bespectacled premier who's been clambering over piles of rubble to rally victims in the hardest-hit areas.

Premier Wen Jiabao swapped his normal dark suit for an all-weather jacket and bullhorn, arriving in Sichuan province just hours after it was rattled by the 7.9 magnitude temblor.

State media reported that he crouched amid the rubble of an elementary school and shouted to a trapped student: "This is Grandpa Wen Jiabao, hang on child, we will rescue you!"

His apparently tireless efforts — supervising orange-jacketed rescue workers, visiting with bereaved parents and overwhelmed medics — have won wide praise from Chinese, who see him as the "people's premier."

"The central government hasn't forgotten about this place. We will rescue those who are injured. If the roads are blocked, we'll use airplanes to lift them out," he announced to weary survivors in the epicenter of Wenchuan, his voice strained after days of similar visits broadcast continuously on state television.

Mod Edit: Source Link Added
Posting work written by others. **ALL MEMBERS READ**

[edit on 5-21-2008 by worldwatcher]

Source Link

"However, Premier Wen refused medical care and pushed away the medic. That's rare. I was so moved," he said.

Not everyone is enamored with Wen. Some Chinese criticized his first stiff appearance after the quake, reading a statement on a plane taking him to the disaster zone. A small minority of posts said Wen's presence at the scene attracted cameras but did little to help actual rescue work.

--------------------------------------
he is so popular now in china,people adore him.

Mod Edit: Source Link and External Quotes added.

[edit on 5-21-2008 by worldwatcher]

reply to post by haidian


Good move Wen Jiabao, impressive. Show Bush how it's done.

this photo is the most popular and discussed photo in china now,the top two leaders of the nation rotate directing rescue work in disaster area,after four days around the clock working at the scene of the rescue.president hu flew there to relieve premier wen.people say from the way they are looking at each other,great empathy was shown on their faces.


[edit on 21-5-2008 by haidian]

Wen Jiabao in sichuan

Chinese premier shows up on Facebook

By CARA ANNA, Associated Press Writer 26 minutes ago

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao now has a Facebook page.


It's not known who set up the profile that now features Wen's official government photo, but it's clear the premier has some fans — with more than 13,000 "supporters" as of Wednesday.

The Chinese government doesn't have the most approachable reputation, but Wen's been praised for his quick and sympathetic response to the May 12 earthquake in central China that's killed more than 67,000 people.

"This is Grandpa Wen Jiabao, hang on child, we will rescue you!" he shouted at one point to a student trapped in the rubble, state media reported.

His Facebook page was set up two days after the quake. It's full of supportive comments and photos of him walking through the rubble and comforting victims.

"I love you, oh my God," Tina Wong of Hong Kong posted.

"A model Premier for the world!" Sukant Chandan of London added.

"It's so great 2 see u here!" Celeste Lee of China said.

The 66-year-old Wen's ability to show up quickly at the site of a disaster — coal mine explosions, snowstorm-blocked railways — and look sympathetic has made him the often distant-seeming Chinese leadership's most popular figure.

Just hours after the 7.9-magnitude quake hit Sichuan province, he was on the scene with a bullhorn. Television cameras followed him for days as he tried to comfort children and put on a hard hat to enter a collapsed building.

"The central government hasn't forgotten about this place. We will rescue those who are injured. If the roads are blocked, we'll use airplanes to lift them out," he said to survivors at the epicenter, Wenchuan.

President Hu Jintao followed Wen's visit to the quake zone with one of his own, but he looked less comfortable and didn't win the kind of warm support the premier did.

i'm Chinese. my opinion is that's what a leader should do. it's leader's obligation, and premier Wen is doing well. and no need to pay additional praise on it. after all, it's his job and responsibility.

and be careful there are some dude might think this is Communist propaganda considering what they have been taught through their whole life. there is no need to activate them.

reply to post by zhangxi0183


If this is a PR show, I buy it and I think most of Chinese buy it. Hu and Wen show themselves in Sichuan when there are still a lot of aftershocks to calm down people and organize rescue there. And actually it's not the first time Wen appears in dangerous places. He did that as well when SARS broke out.

Some people may think Chinese just support their leaders blindly. But this is not true. Ex-president Jiang and ex-premier Li never got such popularity.

From my experience of browsing here, I believe:
In western eyes, communist=evil
=censor, oppress, torture, slaughter....
every news from China must be given a negative interpretation by them.
and they deliberately refuse any positive news of China.
so I guess showing this to them is wasting time.


[edit on 28-5-2008 by gs001]

Originally posted by qiulin
reply to post by zhangxi0183

 

If this is a PR show, I buy it and I think most of Chinese buy it. Hu and Wen show themselves in Sichuan when there are still a lot of aftershocks to calm down people and organize rescue there. And actually it's not the first time Wen appears in dangerous places. He did that as well when SARS broke out.

Some people may think Chinese just support their leaders blindly. But this is not true. Ex-president Jiang and ex-premier Li never got such popularity.

well, he do did a good job in this disaster, especially compare to those so called democratic leader.

i'm just saying some westerners might not think so. considering their education and media environment. after all ,in their dictionary. ccp=evil.

I do agree with Zhangxi. It will give a wrong impression that Chinese members "love and adore" anything of China/CCP. That's why I am kinda self-censoring myself by only making use of non-Chinese sourced material if it comes down to China related topics. People tend to not give any credibility to Chinese sources unless they see the similar material being written and published by a non-Chinese source. Welll, for the majority of the people it is like Chinese users are brainwashed or propaganda agents. Check my signature. It goes even so far that I have the feeling some guys who watched this thread, became even offended and just already put any of the Chinese users on ignore list Just look at my collection of members added me to become their "respected foe", I can tell you, I can not even recall when I talked with most of them if at all Luckily there are more people who added me as a friend though, and not even only by Chinese members, this makes me realize that ATS is not that bad.....

Hmmm, why I mumbled so much again?

Note. From day 1 on, I already said it, I will repeat it again. Wen is the hero! Without his presence, decisive actions and personal coordination of the crisis management, I bet the the casualties might have been doubled, the rescue efforts and swift actions are simply impressive and unprecedented in human history! There is a reason why he kept on giving those pep-talks to the PLA,PAP and the civilians. Just look at the snow-storm disaster, without the presence of someone with absolute power..... eventually Wen Jiaobao even had to apologize to the public for the snow-storm disaster under-estimation and for how incapable the government had taken care of the people. Our leaders are learning and improving!




[edit on 28/5/08 by IchiNiSan]

Some people may think Chinese just support their leaders blindly. But this is not true. Ex-president Jiang and ex-premier Li never got such popularity.

oh,gosh we've got the same feeling,jiang disgusts most chinese people both at home and abroad.thank god he's gone.

Originally posted by haidian

Some people may think Chinese just support their leaders blindly. But this is not true. Ex-president Jiang and ex-premier Li never got such popularity.

oh,gosh we've got the same feeling,jiang disgusts most chinese people both at home and abroad.thank god he's gone.

When he made that joke when together with Clinton, it made me realize that country's leaders are also human beings, I got much more respect for him from then on. So if you analyze closer what Jiang had contributed to China, then I would say, yeah, he made quite some good progresses and at least continued Deng's outlined masterplan pretty according to script.

reply to post by IchiNiSan


at least in beijing,most people think jiang is a clown,likes to show off his stupidity,people laugh at him all the time,that is no respect for him ,and he doesnt deserve any.all he did was to try all means to consolidate his power,see how many his henchmen were promoted to beijing by him.and he didnt achieve anything,all the hard work was done by other people,he was a just a backseat driver.there are reasons why people dont like him,he is soooo fake.

[edit on 28-5-2008 by haidian]

It's great to see this, it truly is.

Don't know what else to say really, it's just really nice to see this kind of compassion for your fellow man. A rare thing it seems these days.

Haidian, I was still abroad and looking at the Chinese development from a far, I know what you mean about Jiang and even more about Li. It is just that even by consolidation and stepping down relatively quickly he did contributed in the general progress of China. But don't be mistaken, I am glad the Shanghai clan is disbanded and with the current power fraction at their current positions, and I hope that the hardliners and incapables are kept away from the power center as far away as possible. It is just that I tend to be like being the devil's advocate once in a while