It's getting late. He couldn't be coming now.
Airplane, airplane! Come take us back home in the mountains!
Their cars are here.
An important leader has arrived.
Who?
Premier Wen Jiabao.
Hey, we too could go shake hands with Premier Wen!
An important leader has arrived.
Down there... but we can't see it.
You can't see it either where you're standing.
I'm still in Beichuan!
The road conditions in Mianyang are bad.
We are stuck here.
We don't know how to get over there.
They say there's the plague!
They're afraid of infection.
What can we do if they don't allow us to go?
Those cars are very ordinary.
They're important people!
You're joking.
Their lives are more important than ours.
I'm still in Beichuan,
we can't leave now.
As far as Leaders are concerned,
whatever happens
they still treat us like fools.
How could they know whether we're well or not?
Premier Wen should go really among the earthquake victims in order to know.
Why isn't he meeting with the people?
He should meet the earthquake victims,
talk to us,
and listen first-hand to what we say.
Are you waiting till dark to let us go?
If we let you go, they might punish us.
In fact, we're supposed to let no one pass.
We only ate this morning.
We haven't eaten anything since then.
People are forbidden to pass through here, right?
No one can go into the town.
I'm leaving.
We still have a long way to go.
Where are you going?
I'm going home.
Where are you going?
Anyue.
It's getting dark.
It's OK now for the Leader?
His car has already left.
Oh, we still have to wait and wait.
You have to wait for permission from high-level to pass.
No permission, no pass.
You people are blocking our way.
Our words don't count here.
We just follow orders.
We have to overcome obstacles one by one.
The Party's glory illuminates my heart.
In the old society, I was enslaved and whipped.
My poor mother had no way but to weep.
The Communist Party called upon me to undertake the revolution.
Liu Song, ask him to back up the car!
Leader Tan Li is coming soon.
Tan Li. Tan Li is coming soon.
My shirt is pure cotton, it doesn't crinkle.
Members of the Communist Party are role models,
they should play an exemplary role
and unite with the people of the disaster zone.
With the support of the military and the rest of the country,
we will rebuild the disaster zone.
Shall we?
I hold meetings twice a day.
We are trying to organize the institutions
in the villages and the towns, make them operational again.
They're getting back into operation.
Things are getting back in order. This is a community.
Is it its administrative point?
Yes, it's responsible for distributing goods and materials.
Making your own meal?
Yes.
You got the distribution of instant noodles, right?
Are you tired of eating instant noodles?
You're cooking a meal, now? May I have a look?
Yes.
You're boiling meat.
Yes.
Where did you get the meat?
I rode my bike to Mianzhu to buy it.
I bought it today.
You eat better than us.
All thanks to the government and our leaders.
You've contributed a lot to us,
to the people in the disaster area.
We're very moved by your support.
It's our duty to do so.
Are you from the town or...
Yes.
From the town.
Your houses are destroyed?
All destroyed.
In this town,
underneath, everything is destroyed.
Are there deaths or wounded in your family?
They are OK.
Only my eldest sister was hurt in the leg.
I see, there's still someone injured in your family.
Safety first.
My tent is set up over there.
Which one? The white one?
Oh, the white one.
I stay with my sister.
Take care of your sister.
OK.
Gradually, with the help of our government,
with the help of the whole country,
we'll try to make sure you have cooked food soon.
Thank you. We're grateful to you, leaders.
OK.
No. 108.
No. 108 five!
No. 132, leave it if no one answers. Just leave it.
No. 134,
six more!
I'll get six.
Six more, count it and see if it's enough.
Count the number of chopsticks.
We haven't washed the bowls.
They haven't come yet. Old Pan and others are there.
Ask him to come back.
Otherwise I will ask someone else.
OK.
Moreover,
two of us haven't come back yet.
It should be eight.
Who'd like to have some soup? There's some rice soup.
Stand in line.
I'm the first, someone jumped the queue.
One person, one ladle. No more.
Give me more.
It's too little,
give me more vegetables.
No.
Give me more!
No, go, go!
You can't give them too much rice.
They'll throw it away if they can't finish.
It'd be a waste.
Give just the amount you did just now.
Lift it up.
Fuck!
It's been four days since they died.
Can you imagine, it gets me mad.
Our two kids didn't even get to call "mom" and were gone.
Just think, she was already very pregnant,
he had to take care of her.
My son Yang Yong'r, if he jumped from the window,
he'd still be alive.
He couldn't have run by himself.
He couldn't have left his wife behind.
If our second son Yang Bing didn't run fast, he'd be hit too.
He climbed onto the ginkgo tree
and held the tree tightly.
You know, the house fell into the courtyard.
The courtyard is very large.
It fell crashing down with a thunderous noise.
It was terrible!
Yang Bing was so scared that he had goosebumps on his face for three days.
He's only been getting better last 2 days. He's been having nightmares every night.
The night before, he shouted in his dreams:
Yang Yong, don't go there- it'll crush you-run fast!
Hi, your son Yang Bing is coming up.
Ask him to wait for us.
Help us carry the clothes up later.
You have to go back to sell pigs.
Then come back and carry them.
We are washing slowly. You won't be able to wait that long.
Which way?
So terrible.
It took us more than half a month to reach here on foot.
We can't afford to repair the road, we have to protect our lives first.
We need water and the road.
We need to repair the road.
No water, no rice. It's terrible.
Walk this way, it's better over there.
It's hard to walk over there.
Come here, it's easier to walk here.
Liu Shuju,
Yes?
Come, let me help you.
Come over
No brush, no basin. How can we wash?
Let's rest after we get uphill.
We realized it was an earthquake, shit!
It was too late to run.
That's probably what happened to our two.
If we had fallen asleep, we wouldn't know what had happened.
When we woke up, we realized it was terrible.
It would be terrible if you didn't wake up.
I don't know why I didn't think about running!
Go!
Let's go first.
Look, three of them died over there.
My son, my daughter-in-law, their baby all got hit.
Some pigs too died.
We wanted the government to fix the road.
We have to grab any chance to earn some money.
The government didn't allow us to repair the road.
We told them,
"you have to help us repair the road."
We are farmers,
we only want to grow our crops.
The government says they want to settle us at Hongkou
If we move there, who will take care of the crops in the field?
What did we eat in town?
Here we can build a little shelter, fix the water and the road.
We can take care of the peach trees,
there'll be no fruits this year, we'll see next year, we'll take care of them.
How much food are you preparing?
Enough for these people.
I miss them everyday.
They're on my mind every instant...
I have no appetite.
I've been missing them all day.
They shouldn't have slept upstairs that day.
If they were downstairs, nothing would have happened.
At least they could have escaped.
Right?
They got their heads crushed.
People say we're no good, that's why our kids died.
I also have a daughter. She's seventeen.
We had a chat just now.
She once studied in Huayang.
We had no money, she dropped out of high school after a year.
We have three children.
It took a lot of money to build our house.
We have no money left.
Poor pig!
Make a carrier for it.
Make a carrier.
Poor pig
We didn't feed it over ten days.
Fuck!
Come, drive it over here.
Give us fifty yuan more and we call it quits.
If not, we won't sell.
What? Our people helped you carry the pigs here,
we're all in the same boat.
Fuck, now you say you don't want to sell anymore!
We'd settled on 500 each.
Not selling anymore? What are you saying? I don't care what you think.
Twelve pieces, I don't care what you said.
It's a money-losing business to buy your pigs. You should give money back to me.
What are you talking about?
I give you these pigs for cheap.
We've settled on a few hundred yuan.
You have gone too far!
What do you want to do?
We did the moving, we did the chasing.
Didn't I participate?
Don't make trouble for a few yuan.
Stop, let it go.
I came here to talk to your boss.
Why not talk to God?
Fuck.
Which is more important, your money or your life?
The earthquake happened.
No one could have predicted it.
You're just asking for trouble. I don't want to talk to you.
If you think I should be responsible for this case, you can take me to court.
Then I'll make whatever compensation necessary. I won't say anything.
We will tell this to the journalists.
You can't make excuses to shirk responsibilities.
You should have informed us that you sent them to work in Beichuan.
Then we could have gone there to rescue them.
Even if we couldn't have helped much, at least we'd have tried.
We wouldn't have complained if you had informed us in time.
Our people worked for you.
You didn't even inform the workers
and their families.
It's completely your fault.
Old Xiao, why do you say we went there on the third day?
We went there on that very same day in the afternoon.
We just couldn't reach it.
On the second day, we went there again, still couldn't reach there.
My old grandpa was also inside.
There were people missing in every family.
Every one was worried sick.
Isn't it true?
I was hit in the leg at that time.
I could hardly walk at all, Zhao knows that.
I asked my brother to inform you all.
Old Zhao said that we could if there was electricity.
As a boss, it was the least you could do.
You should have called people together to rescue the others.
I did go.
But they stopped me halfway in Yong' an.
They stopped us.
I walked here,
near Drum town.
I had no way but to go back.
Couldn't walk any more.
You should take some responsibility,
as well as these people.
You should have called people to rescue them,
it's your responsibility as a boss.
You shouldn't have stayed there
and ignored what happened around you!
You have dozens of workers.
Such a big deal.
How's it possible you didn't send someone there?
Secondly, concerning Beichuan
you should also have informed their families in time
and told them to go rescue.
You said you sent them to Beichuan.
Did you inform them?
But I didn't know details of the situation. I only knew the situation in Drum town.
How could I know the situation in Beichuan? I wasn't in Beichuan that day.
Can't blame anyone, that's true.
But when people are dying, you should inform their families first
and call people to help.
This is your most basic duty.
Were they all in Beichuan?
Yes, in Beichuan.
This is a most basic but very important duty.
The man who was here just now, did his wife work for that boss?
Yes
The boss had a branch in the county town of Beichuan.
Oh yes
But now he says...
Seems the guy was saying they could have saved someone but they didn't.
That's what he meant.
But people were forbidden to go in at that time.
How could they have gone to rescue the others?
To put it bluntly: The guy just wants the boss to give him money.
Right.
That's what he wants.
That's not right of him.
What about those guys who joined him later?
They were there to give him physical support if necessary.
The boss may have to file for bankruptcy!
Pick it up! Pick it up!
350 Jin.
355 Jin.
100 Jin.
200 Jin.
300 Jin.
350 Jin.
Five Jin.
355 Jin, total.
Come, here you are.
I don't want to carry it anymore.
Why?
One yuan and twenty cents.
OK. One yuan and twenty cents.
I don't want to carry it anymore.
You're tired of carrying it?
It's too heavy, the basket is broken.
Come, come,
come, put it down.
There's nothing else here
Let's go, forget it.
Never mind the things here
Let's go down.
Be careful.
Watch out, over there
Is Grandpa Li's family OK?
Grandpa Li who once lived there.
The man selling the electric appliances is his son.
Do you know them?
This seems to be their stockroom.
Did Li's family live here?
How is his family?
Good.
Should we ask them over to have a look?
Two old folks once lived here.
How are the two old folks there?
They're OK.
The other two old folks?
Good.
Smells so bad.
This was their stockroom.
Feels like it's shaking again.
No, it isn't.
This is a steel rod, you were stepping on a board.
Those people don't look like the owners of the stockroom.
What were they doing here?
I'm going to see if anyone's stealing my things!
It bumped into you.
Hurry up!
Go
The policeman did right.
It drove us crazy.
If there's no one left at your home, they come pick your locks
just take your things and run.
Aren't they ashamed?
We're all victims of this disaster.
We have nothing left at all, not even our pants!
They shouldn't have come picked locks! Taking some food is OK.
The people wouldn't complain if they only stole food.
Report it to the police?
The police are so busy rescuing people,
how could they find time to deal with this kind of cases?
If you want to get compensation from the state,
you have to find the criminal first.
God, which one?
Which one, I ask you?
Some carry what they've stolen by trucks.
Some by tricycle.
I only caught one person, he rode a tricycle.
When he returned my things to me,
I couldn't possibly hit him with a stone, right?
Though I really wanted to,
when I saw his face, I found out he was someone I knew.
How could I punish him?
I can't go and kill him!
What can I do? I can't crack it open.
Normally it shouldn't have been a problem to live here.
But government didn't check the houses and just tore them down.
No one came from the government to check.
The village chief and secretary asked us to remove our furniture.
Then they sent someone to tear down the houses.
No one has told us if it's a dangerous house or not.
They just tore them down directly.
Without even any technical certification.
We ordinary people think we can live in them,
because these houses are not cracked.
What's your plan for the future?
What plan?
We have to wait until the government has resettled us.
How can I make any plans now?
What plan? What plan can I have?
No plan at all.
I have no way to make a living,
but to collect steel scraps. We don't know what to do at all.
What can I do now?
The government won't provide any more food after three months.
We still have to buy rice, right?
They called all the farmers in Beichuan and in the mountains to move to Drum town.
They razed the fields and tore down the houses.
Where should we stay?
We've lost our stable life.
Listen,
the temporary houses are also OK if they're built well.
They should undertake building reconstruction
one by one.
They should tear down the houses where they are planning to rebuild.
No one is against that.
But they tore down our house suddenly
and rebuild everything at the same time...
but in how many years will the project be finished?
Us farmers just need a quick answer.
We wouldn't make trouble for the government in that case.
The government is incapable of restoring public order.
Though the military police is sent here,
people are still stealing aluminum alloy,
folding doors,
and other things on the street
why doesn't the government interfere at all?
Look, it weighs sixty jin.
Are you buying?
If not, I will sell it tomorrow.
My baby, I drew it, the constellation and the moon.
I stopped the earthquake
from happening last time!
Look at my drawings.
Here's my drawing.
I drew it at noon yesterday.
There is a green sea-turtle.
God Erlang Yang Ji caught it with a fork.
It's tied up by iron chains, so it can't cause trouble.
This is the Scheme of the Universe.
Was it a waterlily or a lotus?
Is it the lotus you grow here?
The waterlily?
The lotus of the Buddha?
I put the lotus over there but it didn't do the trick.
The turtle was still making trouble.
The lotus is still there.
Is it the lotus with the roots
or a man-made lotus?
No, it's the real lotus of the Guanyin Buddha.
Have you seen it?
I saw the red water and white smoke
Bang, the white smoke rose up.
Soon it got dark on Earth.
What did the earth-gods do this time?
The Earth-God?
He was destroyed during the earthquake.
No one worships him nowadays, only me.
What did he do this time?
Why didn't he stop the earthquake from happening?
He should have stopped it.
That is my first question.
There's no Earth-God Temple here.
He complains that people didn't repair it.
Why didn't he stop the earthquake from happening?
He didn't answer my question.
Whatever the reason,
I have no money, the Earth-God has no money.
He says he doesn't care what the reason is.
I have no money, neither does he.
What a tragic scene!
There are only some slippers left in our dormitory,
no clothes left.
Come, take this bag.
Uncle, we're leaving.
OK.
Uncle, we're leaving. Bye!
OK, take care.
Thanks.
You have to be careful here too.
There are aftershocks.
Beichuan Secondary School, Sichuan
Are you filming this?
Are you a student at this school?
No, my younger brother is.
How is your younger brother?
We haven't found him yet.
Where is his dormitory room?
Maybe go ask some other students, they should know.
It's here.
See if his name is written there.
No name, these clothes are his.
Look at the clothes.
Yes, it's right here.
These are his bed covers.
These are his clothes.
This is his bed.
Isn't that so? Absolutely so.
I recognize this cotton mattress.
Look, here are his clothes.
Yeah.
Oh, his clothes.
Yes! It's his bed.
His things.
Yes, these are his things.
Let's take these clothes home.
No need.
Keep it as a souvenir.
Are these his glasses?
God, such a big tragedy!
I was too scared to move that day.
What should we do now?
It's hard to rebuild a temple.
We're so helpless!
Doggie, don't bark.
I'll bring some food for you next time.
You're lucky.
You've survived.
Doggie!
If we're well,
we'll bring some food for you.
Just stay here, tell us when you need help.
We feel so sad looking at this!
Such a big disaster has befallen us now!
Poor doggie!
Doggie, don't cry, don't be upset!
We'll see you next time!
God!
We've been working hard
and living a frugal life.
You're early.
Yes, a little early.
We came here at eight
by motorcycle.
The Buddha Douwu Xiantian is all crushed,
what a shame!
People who came to repair the washroom asked us
to cover the Buddha with an umbrella.
But we don't know what to do.
It's crushed, what can we do with it?
Part of our village was also crushed.
Only after we rebuild the village can we repair the temple.
Even if we harvested our crops, where would we store them?
Some people say the Buddha can protect people from disaster
but he is unable to protect himself!
The Buddha has been destroyed by the earthquake,
we can't blame the gods.
Even the gods can't avoid disasters, you know?
Even they can't avoid disasters,
just like ordinary people on earth.
The earthquake is a matter
between Heaven and Earth,
you know?
Our children live here.
My son and his wife sell meat.
They're butchers.
The one sleeping in the shelter is my elder son. He's disobedient.
He soils the bed.
After he graduated from middle school,
at first he was OK,
but later he became rebellious.
I asked him to do something to make a living,
I fought with him, he was very upset.
He felt no one understood him. It's possible.
That's why he became like this. He refuses to change.
They allocated the temporary houses according to our Production Unit.
I told them that I have a son
and he makes a mess everywhere.
I asked them if we could live here.
No one said yes or no.
I have to stay here to take care of him.
Finally, everyone had to move into the temporary houses.
I went to apply, but they had no more for me.
There's enough stock for the winter, you see.
I live here now. It's warm inside.
What's the difference between your life before and after the earthquake?
Almost the same.
Our life is getting better now.
We have more clothes and quilts now.
The money is distributed by the government, we got more this month.
I don't know where they'll let me build the new house,
I'm still waiting.
The New Year is coming soon.
We bought some meat and eggs
to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
There're still four more pieces underneath.
These broken bricks...
It's a waste to crush them with the bulldozer.
Ten cents a piece, ten cents.
It's no use coming back.
It's OK.
Forty-five.
Do you have twenty? I have some change.
Give me twenty.
Fifty cents. I owe you fifty cents.
It doesn't matter.
It's OK, like you gave me a piece of brick, OK?
Let's go.
Thanks.
You aren't buying today?
No, not today.
Today...
Thirty five cents for one piece.
Yesterday we repaid the nine hundred yuan we borrowed to build the house.
We owe two hundred yuan to others for installing the window
We'd just put in a new water pipe.
The house was just built.
My sons all left to work outside, only I stayed at home.
We put in the water pipe, and right after lunch,
I found the water leaking,
soon after there was the earthquake.
I'd rather live than die.
The food,
the daily expenses,
the house...
You bought some vegetables.
This is my elder son.
I just came back.
I just came back from Shanxi.
Where is my son Muhong?
He went out.
This damn shelter, it's really useless. It's cold.
It's awful living in such a shelter.
What will we do when it gets cold?
Don't you agree?
Where's my brother?
I went out to work on January 16th this year.
I went to Shanxi to work in a mine
and came back on May 2nd.
They were selling land here
to build a cement plant.
I used to be a driver before.
I came back to get my driving license.
I had some savings
and had planned to apply for a loan from the government
to buy a truck, to make our life better.
I came back on May 2nd,
and the earthquake happened on the 12th.
We don't know what we'll do in the future.
We have no house, no money left.
Where are you?
Where?
Let me talk to him.
Where are you?
We're waiting for the road to be repaired.
It's not decided yet.
After it's decided, we'll start building our house.
No foundations yet.
We don't know where to build our house.
We have to wait for the government to help us lay the foundations.
They're building houses in Mao'rshi village.
It's what they call a "priority" project.
The houses there are built well.
It's listed as the government's "priority" project.
It's unfair.
We're all ordinary people.
Why did the government give them priority?
We're all human beings. Priority project?
In Mao'rshi, the village in that valley,
they just build their houses without worrying about anything.
But here we can't even get a loan to build our house.
What's a priority project?
The new house is 180 square meter each, everything inclusive.
It cost nearly one million,
nearly one million yuan in total.
Sixty-nine families in Mao'rshi
A hundred million.
How much do you pay for living here?
When we turn it into a tourist site,
we won't need to farm any more.
No need to farm any more.
Doing business is good.
It's easier to make a living.
Grandpa, listen,
if I were the officer in your village,
I would urge you to do business like this.
I'm not boasting.
I just want to make your village famous.
Now people all around the country have heard the name of your village.
Do you have any clothes?
No.
Why didn't you tell us?
Have you finished digging the ditch?
The baby didn't hear, baby Leng.
Given name?
Leng Guoliang?
It fell down.
It can be used for igniting.
A masterpiece by the earthquake.
Hi, this one.
Here, ninety.
OK thanks
Hi, finished selling?
When shall we go get the pigs?
Some leaders are coming, they're cleaning again.
Whether they come or not, we still have to clean.
I only know we clean whenever there are leaders coming.
This one?
Go.
Don't drive them over the broken glass!
One pig had his knuckle hurt by broken glass the other day.
Go, Fuck off!
Be careful, don't hurt his knuckle!
Shall we go?
Go!
Be careful of the broken glass.
It won't cause any pollution.
It's a new type of factory.
They made a survey.
The flowers and plants here
grow well.
Below is farmland.
The land above has been converted for forestry.
What will you do since your farmland is reclaimed?
The government requested it. We have no choice.
No one is against it. Beichuan is poverty-stricken.
It will be the biggest cement factory in Beichuan.
The revenue alone will be seventy five million yuan.
I was born there... over there.
Over there by the bamboo forest,
that's where our old homestead was.
That was before the 1949 Liberation.
After a year we came over here.
The year we moved,
I still remember well.
Our father put me in the basket,
he carried me over from the other side
and we lived on this side.
Over here we were still renting someone else's land
a landlord's land.
Our father said,
we'll rent for a year.
Just the deposit was more than two hundred silver yuan.
We didn't manage to find so much money, so the deal was not made.
Later, he saved some money gradually.
We moved to this side. We still rented a landlord's land.
Then came the 1949 Liberation.
After the Liberation, the land was allotted to us.
The land was allotted, also the house.
That was before.
We have no farming land now.
The last bit of land was sold
for 5200 yuan, it's all requisitioned.
Nothing left except
the little piece for the house
where the house stood,
that one is still there. It's not yet requisitioned.
But maybe it will be.
How do you make a living if you don't have any land left?
Since I have no land, I do odd jobs to make a living.
At your age you still do odd jobs?
Yes, easy ones.
I raised (my elder son) on my own, I'm very attached to him.
I said to him before,
as long as I'm here, if I am able to provide for you
you will have food.
If I'm no longer able to, I won't provide for you.
I'm old, if I can't do it anymore,
you'll have to think for yourself.
I've told him this already
many times before
Every year I tell him many times
what I said to him before.
Yang Binbin, come have lunch.
Have lunch, come.
Aren't you coming?
Come out and have lunch.
Come have lunch.
Take it.
I'm getting some food for you.
Have some cabbage.
Go back to your room. Don't go out!
Can you hear me? Go back to your room.
I've told him how to wear the shoes. I've told him already.
I've helped him tie shoe laces.
He only concerns when
I call him as the meal's ready.
I just told him not to go out,
but he didn't listen.
Look, he's wearing the shoes now.
It's good.
He likes it.
He's wearing the shoes again.
Some worker brought them for you,
they've been there for several days.
Remember to wear them, otherwise your feet will freeze.
Pass me the hoe.
Come over
what
Grandma
Come on, 123.
Throw it.
It's a natural disaster,
not a man-made disaster.
If it were a man-made disaster, everyone would be cursed and hacked to pieces.
It's a natural disaster.
Does it hurt?
Did he poo?
Your mother is going to work
and will get some cakes for you.
I'm getting candy bars for you.
It's almost eight o'clock.
Mum
eh!
Mum, give me a hug.
Catch them.
Slowly.
This year we only got forty thousand yuan by selling peaches.
We haven't paid for the piglets yet.
We bought the pig feed on credit.
After paying off those expenses, we'll have no money left.
Not to mention rebuilding the house. How could we afford that?
The brick houses must be double-layered.
The foundation
and the four angles must be firm.
How could we afford that?
The cost is too high.
Forty or fifty cents for one piece.
Nearly ten thousand yuan for twenty thousand pieces.
How could we afford to build it with such a small amount of money?
We still have to make a living next year. Feed the whole family.
What can we do?
So we have to build houses that can withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake.
Even if we just build normal single-storey houses,
they must meet the requested standards. They delimit the sphere,
check the foundation. Then you get the money.
The subsidy is five thousand.
Plus nineteen thousand as a bonus.
Then apply for a loan.
And build the house according to standard.
If not, we don't get any money.
Even if we want to meet the standards, we don't have enough money to do so.
Do you think anyone knew about the earthquake beforehand?
No one knew it would happen.
The government knew that if they warned the people,
it'd cause panic and confusion in the country.
So they kept it secret, they said nothing.
They didn't know it would happen at all. Absolutely not.
Then how come Premier Wen arrived in such a hurry?
If he had known about it beforehand,
he would have first protected his government officials,
and his Communist Party members.
That's a lie.
No one knew it would happen.
If they had known, they would have let the water in the reservoir out first.
Right?
CCTV reported it was a 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
The Seismology Bureau in Sichuan has proven it's an 8,
but they reported 7.8 to the public.
Why?
The government hid the truth from the public.
According to international law,
if an earthquake is above 8 in magnitude,
international rescue teams can come in to help.
The government feared losing face.
In their minds, China is a great country
and we can help ourselves.
They just acted rashly.
Should we take this?
Yes.
Mum, are you going with us?
It's Xinxin's offering to her late uncle and aunt.
I feel sad at seeing their tombs.
My younger son was doomed to die, it was his fate.
My daughter
once worked at a hairdresser's.
Her former colleagues
had planned to come here for a visit on May 12th.
But they changed their mind and came on May 9th.
Many people came to our home.
If they came on May 12th,
my younger son would have been out to buy food for them,
then he wouldn't have died at home.
Shit, why did they come here that day?
We usually have lunch
at 1 or 2 PM
But he had lunch at 12 o'clock that day.
Isn't it strange?
There used to be a large population in Beichuan before,
but now
only some guards are left.
A lot of bodies.
Thousands of dead people are buried in Beichuan,
their bodies are trapped in the ruins.
Hey, stupid! Get out of the way!
Add some cold water.
It's time to kill the pigs.
Hey, see if you can still yell, hey?
No, I won't sell.
I said 43 yuan, not 42 yuan, I've offered you one yuan.
42 yuan
Two yuan more, stop your nonsense!
40 yuan
40 yuan. No
Add two more yuan.
Two more.
One more.
My mother left us when I was six.
The relationship between my father and mother was not good.
My father has an eccentric character.
He didn't know how to support the family.
During the period from 1979 to 1980-
hey, you and I are about the same age I think-
so you know life was hard in 1979.
She left then.
It's been thirty years.
No news about her. We don't know where she is.
She's almost sixty years old now.
I wish I could see her.
Even though I am not able to see her,
maybe at least when the film comes out, she could see me.
That's it.
I lost my mother when I was six.
We have passed the most difficult times.
It was really hard.
My father took care of the three of us.
When my elder brother was young,
you know, that guy... don't know what to say...
don't know what to say about that guy...
What?
Auntie, do you want some meat?
No.
Buy this.
How much is it?
Four yuan for you Usually five yuan.
The pork
is so cheap.
To tell you the truth,
it should be two yuan for a jin.
I'm selling it to you at this price.
The fat is all intact.
Oh, journalists are doing interviews here.
May I talk to you about something?
They aren't journalists.
The government should have distributed to me pots, pans, bowls, and chairs,
but they didn't. The village leader didn't care about my situation.
Have you moved into a temporary house?
Yeah.
How did you move into the temporary houses?
We all moved in.
But they didn't give me pots,
pans, bowls, chairs and hot-water bottles.
I haven't encountered Premier Wen Jiabao yet,
I can't talk to him.
Someone forbids me to talk. Why do they forbid me to talk?
I didn't say the Communist Party is wrong.
The government is still concerned about us.
Journalists from Beijing, Shanghai,
Chongqing and foreign countries have been here.
They were concerned for us old folks
and our families.
I told them
without the help of the Communist Party
we would be beggars.
If we really had to beg for a living one day,
we old people would stare to death.
Honestly,
government policy is very good,
But it was unpopular among us.
Just like water, which disappears in the sand quickly.
In fact,
the country has spent a lot of money on many things,
A lot of money and effort.
I think officials in the lower ranks don't possess much.
They don't live a good life as some have reported on TV.
Some do benefit from their position,
but some officials also live a poor life.
Government policy is good.
Let's go, it's easy to walk.
How good it is to carry these back on your back!
Yes, it's great!
Buying some meat?
Buying your meat!
I haven't received my electric blanket yet.
Nothing for me again this time.
Help me to tell them.
They say I don't have a residence card, so I don't receive my share.
So I didn't receive my share.
I left empty-handed.
I want to know what they are going to do.
I've got the money for housing.
But they didn't give me anything else.
If the leader is good,
I'd praise him in front of everyone.
The Communist Party is good.
I'm getting my new residence card now.
I have the certificate booklet.
I've had it for dozens of years,
but he still didn't give my share.
They don't let us talk.
But I want to tell you
and let him know.
I must tell you now.
It's not an under-the-table deal.
Help me to tell the village leader, then he will give me those things.
If I don't go, I won't have mine.
Even those who are married with people outside have their share.
Everyone should have their share.
I've been here for dozens of years.
I came here at eighteen.
He didn't distribute anything to me.
An electric blanket is not a big deal.
It's a lie.
It's unfair.
I didn't get distributed a tank of gas.
No electric blanket.
I have nothing.
Why doesn't the leader care about me?
DVD is playing, wait a moment.
Where is your house?
Destroyed.
Why didn't you rebuild?
How? No space for laying the foundation!
The government is planning to repair the road here.
Repair the road?
Yes!
Is he your father?
Yes.
Our house was newly built, we stayed there for only a year.
Are you still living here?
Yes.
Where is your house?
Destroyed.
Why don't you move to the temporary housing?
We didn't get any.
We're living here waiting to build new houses.
Do you have your own temporary house?
No.
We just stay here.
Was your money distributed?
You should set up a shelter with the two thousand yuan you were distributed.
Damn, where to set up?
At first, they didn't inform us at all,
they just tore down our houses, then set up shelters.
We didn't even have a cooking stove.
Apparently they are widening the road.
They've drawn lines here.
Where are you from?
Beijing.
Are you filming for the media or for yourselves?
Ourselves.
It's damp in the shelter, My clothes are damp every day.
Have you moved into the temporary housing?
Not yet.
They didn't make any arrangements for you?
He's got his money.
Don't worry,
I'm going to Drum town to make arrangements for you.
The local government says there's no one in our town and Beichuan County
staying in tent shelters.
It's a lie.
In fact there are a lot.
Not just one, a lot more.
They've torn down all the shelters on the street,
but there are tent shelters here below.
They don't allow us to stay in shelters.
Premier Wen Jiabao said
that people wouldn't be staying in shelters come winter.
We must move out of the shelters.
But the local government says there's no one staying in the shelter.
We have no choice.
The government rented a house for us.
But it's too far, near the gas station,
not convenient for the seniors.
Secretary Du, come here.
We have nothing to cook with.
Secretary Du!
To cook, we need electricity.
We need other utensils.
Secretary Du! Come and have lunch with us.
I've eaten, I've eaten.
Come on, come come!
We haven't left yet.
They asked us to leave.
Where can we go?
Somewhere behind the gas station.
How can our two families move there? So many people.
Even when you've moved there, they won't give you keys.
If you want to get in, you have to call them to open the door.
It's inconvenient.
No keys to get in.
I asked the village leader to give us a key, but he didn't.
I'd rather live here than there. I live here, right.
Mum, uncle!
Zhong, don't shout!
Ask Secretary Du to have lunch with us! Why can't I shout?
Uncle!
Zhong, you're annoying!
I'm just asking Secretary Du to have lunch with us.
Do you think I'm annoying?
I'm annoyed, I can't get a loan!
Leaders are here, they seem so busy.
Why don't they come to see us in ordinary times?
The current situation is
they're trying to protect their official positions.
That's what I think.
Some things are just like a political movement.
Those leaders should solve these problems thoroughly,
from all sides.
When will we exchange rings?
Exchange rings.
Later, we'll exchange it privately.
Wait a moment.
Get off here?
Yes.
Here or go over there?
No, here.
I have to go over there to change my clothes.
Ask your mum if she will go with us.
Mum
Shall we go?
The guests are not all here yet.
The government sent the quilts for the people who don't have them,
gave money to those who didn't have any,
helped them rebuild their destroyed houses
and provided minimum guarantee for the poorest.
As Chinese people in these times, we're very lucky.
We're grateful to the current leaders.
They always go to visit
the most difficult and the hardest-hit places.
Leaders in any other country,
as far as I can understand,
they couldn't do as well as our leaders.
They're not like our Chinese leaders.
They don't have such a noble spirit.
I'm very grateful to our leaders.
I feel very lucky.
I wish them a long life!
Long live our leaders!
Open the door.
Put me down here.
Auntie,
who's in the room?
I don't know.
Who's locked the door of the bedroom?
Someone did.
Don't know who.
Make a call and ask.
Give me the key.
Kick it open.
Oh, auntie!
Your mum asked us to do this.
You're going to break the door!
It's open.
It's an old place. We used to live below.
Now the newly-developed estates have occupied our land.
We don't have our place.
The land is occupied.
You are renting a place?
Yes!
I only lost a TV set in the earthquake.
I'm planning to do some business after the Lunar New Year.
What kind of business are you going to do?
I'm still thinking about it.
The truth is,
some people have suffered a lot from the earthquake, their houses were destroyed.
But some people have made a lot of money from the earthquake.
On the night of the earthquake,
a lot of people escaped.
They only had their quilts when they left.
They took little with them.
Some doors were not closed.
So a lot of things have been stolen.
Speaking about the things that were distributed by the government,
Some people are really greedy.
Those officials made a fortune!
Some people really benefited from it,
while others got nothing.
No
that's not true.
Who would dare to take things from the rescue operation?
You're wrong.
In most areas, people got three hundred yuan each.
But in some areas, people only get two hundred yuan each.
Someone people have taken a lot of commission in passing.
Some got three hundred and twenty.
Who came here, Premier Wen Jiabo or President Jiang Zemin?
In the Xinjian Primary School, so many children died.
The parents who lost their children...
The officials are afraid that those people will go talk to Premier Wen.
So they found only people who knew how to say nice things.
When the former headmasters stepped down.
They all had made a report
and told the government that the school dorms should be repaired.
Those buildings were dangerous.
The government didn't care then.
In the end, the buildings fell down and killed lots children.
Many of the children's bodies
haven't been found yet.
So those parents...
When Premier Wen Jiabao
visited the Xinjian Primary School,
the local government transferred the parents somewhere else,
sent them off on a trip to go relax.
This time when Premier Wen Jiabao came,
they again transferred all those parents somewhere else.
They feared that these people would expose the truth.
Now everything is fake
Everyone is coming, look!
The soldiers are here.
Where?
In the car.
Look, aren't they soldiers?
I'll take away the firecrackers.
Come, weiwei,
help me open the box,
and take away the firecrackers.
Where?
In the cardboard box.
Put them over there.
Inside.
These.
The police are coming.
Have you cleaned up? They're coming. Saves some arguing.
There used to be a house over there,
The place
with a chimney.
It was bought by the cement plant.
The remains of the chimney is inside.
Crushed.
It was destroyed by the earthquake.
Some died inside.
Look at the mound.
Which one?
There's some construction work going on in the cement factory.
Is there an excavator over there?
Yes.
Why are they building it up on the hill?
They're talking about building a tubular building.
Such a big piece of land has been bought.
The land is cheap.
It's so cheap.
Very cheap.
They force us to sell even though we don't want to.
Don't mess up.
We're already victims of this disaster.
Uncle Wen should have travelled incognito,
like Emperor Kangxi.
Does he sere the rich people or us?
We old people can't get electric blankets.
The electric blankets distributed yesterday,
we old people still haven't got one yet.
It's said everyone with a residency card should be given one.
The policies of the Communist Party are good in essence
but they have been carried out wrongly.
It's not true.
The policies are good, I insist.
You should speak out.
They're the media, just speak out!
Even if the policies of the Communist Party are not good...
I said that the policies are good!
OK, just speak!
I watch the news everyday.
All of the Communist Party's policies are meant to defend ordinary people.
So we should support the policies firmly.
But in fact, as the policies aren't carried out for the ordinary people,
who cares about us ordinary people?
Go on.
What can we ordinary people say?
We don't know whom we should tell.
What do we dare do?
Let it go.
Stop.
Do you think I don't dare?
The policies of the Communist Party are good.
I mean the policies are good.
But other people don't carry them out.
Things have good and bad sides.
Grandpa.
Ah?
Just ask them if they will cut your words in the film.
If they will, stop talking!
If they won't, then just tell the truth!
Oh no, oh no!
Hey, leave your bike there, see what he can do!
He can't leave now, can he?
Nothing interesting to see here.
Though not quite interesting,
he's just a human being, like you and I.
But he's different from us,
he's the Premier, not an ordinary man.
If the earthquake didn't happen,
we wouldn't have a chance to see Premier Wen personally.
Where could we have seen him?
Before we only saw him on TV.
No, he's not arriving yet.
He's in the second bus.
How many cars?
Quite a few.
He's coming!
Many police cars have passed by,
He's coming, really this time!
Keep to the side.
Don't follow the car.
Keep to the side.
Stand to the side, don't move.
Hello, Premier Wen!
He looks like he does on TV.
Where is Uncle Wen going?
Mao'rshi.
Where are you going?
Mianyang.
Let's go.
I'm going to An County.
I'll be back soon.
Are you in Mao'rshi?
Why can't we go to An County?
Those people down the road are lucky,
People up in that village are lucky, I mean those people in Mao'rshi.
I mean anyone can see
a place that's been fixed up.
Mao'rshi is nicely fixed up.
So the government is declaring to the world?
After the earthquake in Beichuan and Mianyang,
everything has been fixed up.
Hi, no
Our bus is stopped here.
I went out to buy lottery tickets,
and came across Premier Wen Jiabao's car.
The road is blocked now.
Hi, ticket seller,
Yes?
We'll get down here, could you reimburse the ticket price?
No, I can't.
The ticket is invalid now.
You can't reimburse the money?
No.
Is Premier Wen coming today?
Have you shaken hands with him?
I waved at him, but he didn't see me.
He waved like this.
Did you see him?
Yes.
You all saw Premier Wen.
After the earthquake, people's concept of life changed.
We don't want to save up money anymore.
If there's money we'd spend it, if there's none we'd go make it.
Like those rich ones with money,
those with millions and more
once they're dead they're dead.
They don't have their money, they don't have their life.
Have a seat.
Stay and eat with us tonight.
Dad, have some wine!
No, I don't drink.
Who said so, just a little!
The people of Jing'gang Mountain made a huge contribution to
the victory of the Chinese Revolution...
the Communist Party government...
I told you to bring your torches, you didn't.
I'll go get my cell phone.
Yang Xin, go get the torch.
It's all dark.
Come, sere this for dad.
I'll do it myself.
Let me do it.
Come, dad.
Put it over there. Why are you holding the torch in your hands?
We cook at home only once a day.
I eat outside in the morning,
I eat outside at lunch.
You have to, you're doing business outside.
I only cook a meal in the evening.
The TV wasn't turned off.
It's still plugged in.
Yang Xin, turn on the TV!
Special Disaster Zone shows how good the Party is,
how good the Government is,
what's there to add?
That's for sure.
They're dancing outside.
Who?
The family Zhang.
Let's go watch them dance, let's go have some fun.
They have an amplifier, and a nice fire.
My brother doesn't know anything.
He's always like that,
he's like a kid,
a 7, 8-year-old kid,
just eating what dad and mom feed him,
doesn't know that he has to grow up,
to make his own living and feed himself.
That's not true.
His head is not quite right.
In other words,
he's useless,
you know what I mean?
He doesn't know what he's doing.
Spent many thousands to see doctors
went to consult at the An Chang Psychiatric Hospital.
A few thousands of yuans.
About 2,000 then?
More than 500.
Don't burn firecrackers over there.
Otherwise you might provoke a fire.
I know!
The material used for rebuilding
is probably fake.
No, not fake.
This is definitely fake material
If it's not fake there wouldn't be this situation.
If it's good material,
that's authorized by the Government
the type with high quality,
it should withstand snow and ice.
So many people live here
and this big transformer, can't even support this kind of electricity output!
For each temporary house,
one or two thousand kw per family is estimated.
Now every family is drawing a lot.
It's way over its limits.
The transformer had problems already before.
There have been many problems.
They're arriving, but they're so casual about it.
They keep examining but never fixed it.
It's New Year's night and all these people live here.
There's not even any light on New Year's Eve.
Not even candles.
Please settle down. We're repairing immediately.
We're changing to a bigger one.
But the transformer's already been changed.
Repair it right away, right away!
Hi Sister, have you had dinner? We haven't yet.
We're having the Lunar New Year celebrations, very happy!
Today, the people from the Disaster Zone sent five representatives
and five children
to our studio
to wish Happy New Year to everybody.
Students from Beichuan Secondary School
and those already in University Prep Classes,
Bai Lin and her father,
Bai Lin was on this stage before,
after the earthquake,
she found her father again by telephone.
Hey, it's the mayor of Beichuan, Jing Dazhong!
How come Jing Dazhong is in Beijing?
A lot of students were gathered when the earthquake hit.
He was on the stage at that time.
He let the kids leave first. The leaders stayed behind.
What kind of New Year celebration program is this?
Look, ma.
Come watch TV.
Jing DaZhong is on TV! Bullshit!
Two DVDs, 3 hours altogether.
This is Beichuan City. Over there was Beichuan Secondary School.
Two souvenir albums for two hundred yuan.
But for you, I'm not selling those.
If you're selling, I'll buy two.
Look Brother, that's what I tell you,
if you had 1000 albums at 200, I'd buy 'em from you!
Then there were too many victims,
and there was no place to bury them,
so they buried them all in this pit,
about 8,000 people altogether.
It was in August,
two layers of cement were enforced on top.
In August,
the cement split open,
because there were too many bodies underneath,
they expanded when they were fermenting.
The cement was split.
The officials added cement twice,
still it didn't work.
If you can go in to look now,
it's filled with asphalt.
This is the most realistic.
Is the dvd OK?
Of course, it's the Disaster Zone here.
Look, their medias are still here.
If the quality is bad, you can always come back.
This was filmed by the news medias.
You can tell.
In that one instant,
many people who didn't have time to run outside
were thrown out.
There were victims' bodies everywhere.
There were people looking for relatives and friends everywhere.
This is Maoba Secondary School.
It's the new location for the Beichuan Secondary School.
Over there, you can all observe,
was the most tragic place.
All the students and the teachers
as well as the workers,
all perished in the disaster.
Everyone present died.
You can all see
all that's left is a red flag and a sign of the school,
not a single brick is whole.
Therefore I think that this time,
the Great Wenchuan Earthquake is in essence our Beichuan earthquake,
because many victims died here.
Oh, Master!
Underneath this mound, was it all empty?
There were all the houses
underneath the flat mound.
All the houses...
and also a lot of offices are buried underneath.
Look at the big bridge, the big bridge collapsed completely.
We're in a Disaster Zone, shouldn't you watch your behaviour?
Hey Brother, it's not for you to say that to me!
I'm from Mianyang, I go to school in Mianyang.
Which class?
Technical school, I'm in 3rd year. I'm graduating soon.
Are you selling for others or for yourself?
I'm selling for my mom.
I have relatives buried inside down there.
Friends too.
I had a lot of friends here.
I went to Junior High school in Beichuan.
I had a lot of friends and relatives here.
I have a dozen relatives buried here.
But we also have to live in reality, don't you know,
the dead are dead.
So be it, don't be sad.
You are staring at me all the time, so I'm embarrassed.