Chinese Media Take Firm Stand On Openness About Earthquake

This young boy was shown on national TV Wednesday. Nonstop coverage has inspired the public to donate blood, money and labor to the rescue effort. (Photo: CCTV Via Associated Press)

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Chinese are now asking what they can do besides donate and what more can be done by the government, said Russell Leigh Moses, an analyst of Chinese politics who is based in Beijing. "There's an anxiety in the Chinese government that the agenda and the story is not being shaped by them."

On Friday, CCTV showed President Hu Jintao taking control of the rescue effort -- in flight, poring over a map of the quake area; consoling victims in a medical tent; and with a bullhorn, addressing rescuers. "Right now, the fight against the disaster has reached the most critical moment. We must fight for victory against the disaster," Hu said, his words echoed in a logo displayed on the lower right corner of the CCTV screen, "Fight the quake, rescue the disaster."

In contrast with official state media such as the People's Daily newspaper, commercial publications have had a freer hand covering the disaster.

The Web site of the Beijing-based financial magazine Caijing carried an editorial Thursday by Huang Fuping, a former deputy editor in chief of the People's Daily, challenging officials' decision to continue the Olympic torch relay in the wake of the recent tragedy.

"Right now the Olympic torch relay is in Jiangxi province, and there still are 27 provinces to go and thousands of torchbearers waiting," Huang wrote. "Under these circumstances, the strategy of the torch relay of the Beijing Olympic Games should be adjusted. It should be suspended between the provinces. After decisive progress has been made in the rescue effort, then we should pass the torch directly from the affected areas of the quake to Beijing."

The same day, the Shanghai Securities News demanded the construction of buildings better able to withstand earthquakes and an end to the corruption that has resulted in shoddily built schools. "If buildings were constructed strictly according to proper standards, most of the buildings should survive an earthquake like the one in Wenchuan, and the casualties wouldn't be so numerous," the paper said in an editorial, noting that 95 percent of earthquake casualties are caused by the collapse of buildings.

In a particularly dramatic piece of coverage, Chinese TV viewers earlier this week watched as a CCTV news anchor, Zhao Pu, struggled to compose himself as he reported on the earthquake. He was widely praised for showing emotion, unlike many of the staid, rigid anchors on state-controlled TV.

"Zhao's tears make the cold face of CCTV warm," said an anonymous poster on Tianya, a popular Chinese Internet forum.

Researcher Liu Songjie contributed to this report.