On the China Media Project, David Bandurski translates an essay by Beijing University professor Zhang Qianfan which argues that only the development of local “democratic mechanisms” could help prevent future tragedies like the collapsing schools in the recent earthquake. He writes:
The recent Wenchuan quake resulted in massive injury and loss of life, including the death and injury of many students and teachers as their school buildings collapsed, something that has saddened our whole nation. After experiencing this massive earthquake . . . we cannot help but soberly consider the institutional causes of this phenomenon [of shoddy school construction], and how we might remedy these institutional problems as we go through the process of rebuilding. Only in this way can we avoid repeating the tragedies of Wenchuan.
