With Burma Distracting From the Olympic Torch Fun, China Reasserts Itself as Center of Attention
Times Online - At least 8,600 people are killed in China earthquake
Thousands of people were reported killed today when China’s worst earthquake for 30 years struck a densely populated area in Sichuan province.
The massive quake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, flattened schools, offices and houses in the southwestern province, and caused widespread damage in nearby Gansu and Yunnan provinces as well as the sprawling municipality of Chongqing.
The state-run Xinhua news agency said that 8,533 had been confirmed dead in Sichuan province alone.
China’s national disaster relief headquarters reported 48 killed in northwestern Gansu province, 50 in the municipality of Chongqing, 61 in Shaanxi province and one in southwestern Yunnan, all of which border Sichuan, according to Xinhua.
The combined death toll reported by Xinhua adds up to 8,693 people, but there were fears the toll will rise with reports of hundreds more buried under debris.
Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Premier, who flew immediately from Beijing to Sichuan province, called it a “major disaster” and urged calm.
The quake struck at 2.28pm (0628 GMT) 57 miles northwest of the provincial capital of Chengdu, which has a population of more than 12 million.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Fortunately it didn’t strike Chengdu itself. It’s full of newly sprouted office towers and tall hotels; and Chinese construction techniques tend to emphasize speed over quality.
We tested our locomotive bogie frame (built in Australia) in a test rig in the Czech Republic. It passed handily. The exact same design was built by our partners in China (under license) and then tested. It cracked half-way through the test (this was a few weeks ago). Our people went over there and were able to identify a number of short-cuts they had taken in construction which contributed to the failure.
So, “Made in China”, still signifies ‘dodgy’. They don’t even seem to be interested in following the path that the Japanese used to turn “Made in Japan” into the stamp of quality it is today, cf Back to the Future, part III.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:35 am
Interesting concept, re-engineering downwards. Penny wise and pound foolish and all that. Having read the Clarkson post, I’d say that’s what we do in the UK to American fast-food formats. And the education system.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:14 am
So, wouldn’t someone get yelled at at some point since someone now has to pay for whole new locomotive bogie frame? I mean at some point the cut corners and graft would start to get expensive for someone in high places with a managing interest in prison real estate.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Mandate of Heaven getting ready for a premature withdrawal maybe.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Perhaps this is not the time to bring up our experience with bogie frame subcontractors in the US.
May 15th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Well, have you heard about the Mercedes case? They opened a plant in the US to much hooplah and of all the cars that ended up having problems after that pretty much all of them turned out to be from the American plant. It’s one of Peter’s favourite stories. Perhaps I’ll ask him about the details I’ve forgotten later.