When something disappears from the Internet in China, netizens joke that it has been “river-crabbed,” a play on the euphemism “harmonized.” The River Crab Archive is a collection of blog post titles, weibo, and other materials deleted from their original sources on Chinese websites, either found by CDT or brought to our attention by outside projects. The editors have selected river-crabbed information of note from CDT Chinese’s ongoing compendium of the same name (河蟹档案).
The death toll from Saturday’s earthquake in Sichuan Province has reached at least 192. Over 12,000 are also injured in the mountainous areas in and around Ya’an, the city closest to the epicenter of the quake. While Prime Minister Li Keqiang has made his presence on the ground known, many victims are complaining that they aren’t getting the help they need. South China Morning Post reports that people left stranded are turning to protests. Meanwhile, some netizens are discussing the role dams and reservoirs play in causing seismic activity.
The following weibo, all of which have been deleted, were selected by CDT Chinese editors from FreeWeibo. A number of the people whose posts were deleted as Weibo “celebrities” with tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of followers.
作家-天佑: 【Red Cross Society of Taiwan: Mainland Asks for Donation of Five Million RMB 】The rescue team from the Red Cross Society of Taiwan wants to enter Sichuan, but the Red Cross Society of China is requiring that it donate five million RMB before it can enter the disaster area. Red Cross Society of Taiwan Bureau Chief Liang says he has received details from China on how the money will be spent: one million will be used to buy medical equipment, the other four million is not specified. http://t.cn/zTi066L Micro-Comment: What kind of behavior is this?
【台湾红十字会：大陆要求先援助五百万人民币】台湾红会组成救助队欲入川救助，但中国红十字会要求其先援助五百万人民币才可进入灾区。台湾红会梁处长称已收到了中国红十字会发来的五百万元用处细则，一百万用于购买医疗器材，另外四百万元并没透露具体用处。http://t.cn/zTi066L 微评：这是什么行为？
April 21, 2013 at 5:20 p.m.
V微动力: Reporters went to Longmen Township, less than 20 km from Lushan County [the epicenter of the earthquake], which suffered severe damage. In almost every village, there are victims blocking the road and holding signs in protest. Some villagers say government rescue troops are only focused on Lushan County, where Prime Minister Li Keqiang dispatched materials. They also claim that when the media are present, the Red Cross dispatches relief supplies by the truckload. Once the reporters leave, they leave, too. (Apple Daily)
记 者奔赴重灾区龙门乡采访,在距离芦山县不超过二十公里路程的龍龙门乡，几乎每走过一村，便有灾民手持标语拦路示威。有村民说，政府救援部对队只集中在国务 院总理李克强到访过的芦山县城发放物资，又指有记者來了，红十字会运送赈灾物资的车辆，就一车车发放，记者走了，他们也跟着走。（苹果日报）
April 21, 2013 at 7:47 p.m.
何兵: 【Earthquake Forecasting: Science or Myth?】 Li Youcai, former leader of the forecast team at the Sichuan Province Earthquake Bureau, firmly opposed the construction of the Zipingpu Reservoir. He thought that building a reservoir on the earthquake belt was like hanging a basin of water over Chengdu. At the end of 2007, he predicted that the Wenchuan region would undergo a major earthquake. He submitted his research to various agencies, all in vein. He had to directly persuade the staff at the Zipingpu Reservoir to release water. They were convinced and decreased the water stored from 120 million cubic meters to 30 million cubic meters. Shortly after that, a severe earthquake hit Sichuan. Chengdu was fortunate to survive. He showed me the related official documents.
【地 震预报:科学还是神话？】四川省地震局前预报组长李有才，当年建紫坪铺水库极力反对，认为选在地震带上，一盆水悬在成都头顶。07年底他预测汶川一带将大 震，多方上书无果。无奈直接游说紫坪铺水库请求放水。水库被说服，将库容从十二亿立方减至三亿。不久大震，成都幸存。他给我看过往来的官文。
April 22, 2013 at 2:52 p.m.
李虎军: 【The Risk of Reservoirs Inducing Earthquakes】There are many reservoirs around Longmen Mountain [in Sichuan]. Can reservoirs trigger earthquakes? Researchers from the Institute of Geology, part of the the China Earthquake Administration, claim in published papers that the leakage of the Zipingpu Reservoir shows that it has triggered earthquakes. Time and space data from earthquake monitoring stations shows that “the Wenchuan Earthquake is definitely related to the Zipingpu Reservoir.” @崔筝1984 @徐卓君
【水库诱发地震风险有多大】龙门山一带水库林立，水库会诱发地震吗？有可能。库容越大，概率越高。汶川地震与紫坪铺水库有关系吗？中国地震局地质所研究人员发表论文说，紫坪铺水库具备诱发地震的渗漏条件，地震台站资料从时间上和空间上说明“汶川地震与紫坪铺水库有一定的联系”。@崔筝1984 @徐卓君
April 21, 2013 at 10:50 a.m.
水宿天痕–：Deleted, reposting #April21TVBEveningNews
刪了重發 #21日晚間新聞（TVB）#
April 22, 2013 at 2:05 p.m.
TVB is a Hong Kong television station.
封紧: In front of Zhejiang University ~~ Reposting!
浙大门口~~帮转发！
SOS, Air Force
CCTV reports:
1. The “golden rescue period” is 72 hours after the earthquake.
2. Many places in the disaster area are still isolated; rescue team pushed forward 3 km in 4 hours.
3. Five helicopters transported 2-4 wounded on April 20.
Questions:
1. Are there paratroopers in China?
2. Could we send more helicopters?
Initiatives:
1, Sina Weibo @空降兵st, please ask the Air Force for more help;
2. Volunteers please join QQ group chat: 275998634
April 21, 2013 at 5:36 p.m.
Chilanbagh: 【Internet Selection】Tibetans blocked on the way to join rescue work: (Woeser) Once they learned that an earthquake had struck Ya’an, many Tibetans in Chengdu, including Rinpoche (Tulku), Khenpo Lama, and ordinary monks, hurried to the disaster area that morning to help. Regrettably, they were blocked on their way and banned from joining the rescue. Some Tibetan monks tried other routes, but were all blocked. By nightfall, they had to give up.
April 21, 2013 at 8:53 p.m.
Quartz reports on the science behind dams causing earthquakes in Quartz, while Tea Leaf Nation has more on the social media reaction to the quake.
Stay up to date on the situation in Sichuan through CDT.
Via CDT Chinese. Translation by Mengyu Dong.
