Summary
21 April 2010
China is marking a day of mourning for the victims of last week's earthquake. More than 2,000 people are known to have died in Qinghai province last Wednesday.
Reporter:
Quentin Sommerville
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Report
The Chinese flag is flying at half-mast across the country, and it was lowered in the provincial capital Xining where, as it snowed, thousands of mourners dressed in black, stood silently for three minutes. Car horns and sirens blared throughout the city.
It's a week since the earthquake hit. Public entertainment, including some television channels, have been suspended nationwide. Cinemas, karaoke bars and internet cafes are closed. The 24 hour ban extends online. Music and film websites have been suspended. The biggest websites and newspaper mastheads have turned black or grey for the day.
Near the quake's epicentre, at the town of Gyegu, the relief effort continues, with Buddhist monks working alongside army and other rescue workers.
The Tibetan plateau has in the past been the scene of ethnic conflict. However, China's state media has portrayed the response to the earthquake as proof of underlying ethnic harmony.
The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, had asked to return to Qinghai to comfort the victims. Loved by China's Tibetans, he's hated by the Chinese government, which regards him as a separatist, and has ignored his request.
Quentin Sommerville, 大象传媒 News, Beijing
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Vocabulary
- at half-mast
(of a flag) raised only half-way up a flag-pole (rather than being at the very top of the pole as usual) as a mark of respect
- mourners
people who are very sad because people they know have died
- hit
happened
- suspended
stopped, no longer broadcasting for a short period of time
- mastheads
top section on the front page of a newspaper, where the name of the newspaper is printed
- epicentre
point on the Earth's surface directly above where an earthquake happens
- the relief effort continues
trying to help victims of the earthquake goes on
- plateau
large flat area of land that is high above sea level
- to comfort the victims
to emotionally help the people who were affected by the earthquake
- a separatist
a person who supports the belief that a group of people or a country or state should be independent and have their own government
