June 23, 2008
Last weekend, Premier Wen Jiabao made a three-day trip to Shaanxi and Gansu, two earthquake-affected provinces, to inspect the reconstruction work. Today’s Modern Express has a big photo on the front page showing Premier Wen sharing a meal of potato and corn with local farmers in Longnan, Gansu Province.
Today’s Beijing News also reported on the Premier’s trip. Here is a translated excerpt describing Wen’s visit to a rural preliminary school:
The temporary school is set up in a big tent. More than 30 pupils from the first grade to the sixth grade study here. On the morning of June 20, the classes are having a discussion about their feelings after the May 12 earthquake. Wen Jiabao walks into the temporary classroom. He puts his hands on the teacher’s desk, bends forwards slightly, and talks to the pupils:
“The earthquake is a most vivid, most realistic lesson, a lesson that you will never forget. You have gone through so much and heard many stories from others. All of them reflect the strength and solidarity of the people of our nation, and the spirit of friendship they demonstrate when they help each other. Do you understand?” “Yes.” the pupils answer in a loud, uniform voice. “We should keep those moving stories in mind, and transform them into strength to study hard. Today we are learning the skills from books in order to make our home a better place tomorrow. Am I right?” “Right.” the pupils answer again. “You are all very strong in the face of the disaster. Hardship only makes one stronger, do you remember?” “Yes we do.” the pupils answer the third time.
As the Premier was about to leave, he caught sight of tears in the eyes of the students and stopped. He offered to lead the class in song: “If everyone contributes a little bit of love, the world will be a better place.”