Public mourning for victims of Chinese earthquake

On Monday, May 12 at 2:28 p.m. Beijing time (6:28 GMT), an 8.0-scale earthquake hit southwestern China's Sichuan Province followed by over 2000 smaller-scale quakes and aftershocks in the same area. Many towns and villages were destroyed and shattered. The earthquakes affected a population of over 10,000,000 in an area that spans more than 100,000 sq. km.

By Monday, May 20 at 6 p.m. Beijing time, the confirmed death toll rose to 40,075 while the injured numbered more than 247,645.

The Chinese government announced three days of national mourning, from May 19 to May 21, for victims of the earthquake. On May 19, millions of people in China and overseas observed three minutes silence at 2:28 pm, exactly one week after the devastating 8.0-magnitude tremor struck Wenchuan County and its neighboring areas.

It is a Chinese tradition to mourn for lost life for seven days following the death. If you would like to join us in the mourning to pay homage to the tens of thousands lost lives in the quake, please stop by the entrance of Redpath Library (3459 McTavish) on Wednesday May 21, between 11:00-5:00. As a Chinese tradition, we have prepared white ribbons.

A group of Chinese students at McGill University