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Quake photos on display at UN

By Zhang Yuwei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-29 11:06

Huang Xiaoxiang, vice-governor of Sichuan province, presents a Chinese painting to UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Kiyotaka Akasaka at an exhibition at the UN headquarters on Thursday. Zhang Yuwei / China Daily

UNITED NATIONS - More than 100 compelling photographs featuring the reconstruction work after the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province two years ago are being displayed at the United Nations headquarters in New York as of Thursday.

Ambassador Wang Min of the Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the UN expressed the nation's gratitude to the international organization for providing its support to the Sichuan people after the quake.

"We'd like to take this opportunity to call upon the international community to strengthen cooperation in countering natural disasters and enhance the UN's leading role in coordinating and guiding international rescue efforts," said Wang at the exhibit's opening.

The 8.0-magnitude quake rocked Sichuan province on May 12, 2008. It killed 68,000 people with nearly 18,000 people listed as missing. The initial tremor and aftershocks were felt in 417 cities and counties in 10 provinces across China. The disaster was the nation's most devastating quake in terms of affected areas and level of difficulty in rescue efforts in China.

Photos displayed at the exhibit include scenes immediately after the earthquake struck the province. Debris of collapsed buildings, injured school children, medical teams helping the injured are shown.

"The exhibit is to thank the international community and the United Nations' tremendous moral support and humanitarian assistance throughout the difficult times," Huang Xiaoxiang, vice-governor of Sichuan province, said.

The photos also display how 29,700 reconstruction projects were brought into motion, of which 85 percent is now complete, Huang said.

"Since the disaster, many countries have been paying close attention to people in Sichuan. We are very grateful and will never forget their support when we were in a dire situation," Huang said.

Browsing the photos with the delegates from Sichuan, UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Kiyotaka Akasaka, said: "Those photos are the most direct way to tell people what happened and what is happening now. Very impressive."