China: Sichuan Communist Officials „Fear a Young Girl’s Name“

„Why should a nation fear a young girl’s name?“

That was the question asked by the parents of Hu Huishan – a middle school student killed in 2008’s devastating Sichuan earthquake.

They helped build a memorial for their daughter in the city of Chengdu. But then communist officials closed it off from the public.

And now there are even rumors swirling that the site may be demolished.

But why would Communist Party officials close a small shed-sized building commemorating the life of an adolescent girl?

Since the devastating quake in which many schools were destroyed, Sichuan officials have faced widespread allegations that they embezzled construction funds that would have made the schools safer. Many parents allege that communist officials used cheap construction materials instead of high-quality materials, and pocketed the extra money.

Around the quake’s one-year anniversary on May 12th, parents had been banned from holding public memorial ceremonies for their dead children. It appears that the Hu Huishan memorial is now being blocked as well.

Fan Jianchuan is a local businessman who owned the land on which the Wenchuan Earthquake Museum was built and is that museum’s curator. He also provided the space for Hu Huishan’s memorial.

His efforts to open the larger museum were supported by Communist officials, and as described in Chinese media, the finished exhibits contain a strong emphasis on official rescue efforts. Yet businessman Fan and architect Liu Jiakun are meeting strong opposition in this attempt to directly memorialize one girl they’ve called „young, warm-blooded, and totally normal“, and whose life may have been lost due to the corruption of party officials.

(NTDTV)