TangshanEarthquake 　　XuXuejiang,themanwhoblewthewhistleonthedeathtollfromtheTangshanearthquake30yearsago,recentlyrecountedhowhebrokehissilencetorevealthatthequakehadclaimed240,000lives,afigurethathadkeptsecretforthreeyears. 　　TheTangshanearthquake,whichdevastatednorthChina'sHebeiProvincein1976,wasaneventsurroundedbyspeculation,guessworkandrumorsbecausenoofficialinformationaboutwhathadactuallyhappenedorcasualtiessustainedwasmadeavailable. 　　Xuconsidershisexperienceisstillrelevanttotoday'sChina,whichhasjustdraftedalawtargetinglocalofficialsguiltyofcover-upsandmediathatgiveincorrectinformationaboutdisasters,accidentsandotheremergencies. 　　InNovember1979,Xu,thenareporterwithXinhuaNewsAgencyandlaterdeputychiefeditor,inadvertentlygotwindofdetailsabouttheearthquakeattheinauguralmeetingofChina'sSeismologicalSocietyheldinDalian,aportcityinnortheastChina'sLiaoningProvince. 　　ItwasthefirsttimethatofficialfiguresfromtheTangshanearthquakeweremadeavailable."Itwasabigstorythatthecountryandtheworldhadlongbeenwaitingfor.IfeltIhadtouseeverypossiblemeanstobringittothepublic,"Xusaid. 　　Hequicklywroteastoryandsubmittedittothemeeting'sgeneralsecretary,thenanofficialwiththeStateSeismologicalBureau,forfurtherverification. 　　Butsomepersuasiononhispartwasnecessary:"Theearthquakehappenedmorethanthreeyearsago.Therehasbeentoomuchhearsaybecausenoofficialstatisticshaveyetbeenreleased.TheHongKongmediaevenclaimedthatthedeathtollwasover700,000.It'sbettertotellthetruthratherthancoverthingsup,"Xusaidtothegeneralsecretary. 　　"Thismeetingisagoodopportunity.Ifthenewscomesfromaconferenceonseismology,itlooksmorenaturalthananabruptofficialannouncementandmeansthatnoexplanationaboutthethree-yearpostponementisneeded,"Xuwheedled. 　　Xuhadtofurtherconvincetheofficialthattimewasoftheessence:"Itmustbepublishedtoday,andwilllosealotofimpactifdelayed." 　　"It'snotaman-madedisaster,andthedeathshavenodirectrelationwiththegovernment,"Xuinsisted. 　　Thegeneralsecretary,finallyconvinced,didnotseekinstructionsfromhigher-levelofficialsandapprovedthestoryforpublicationbyXinhua. 　　Thestoryshockedthecountryandgeneratedsharpcriticism.SomegovernmentdepartmentsarguedthatXinhuaoughtnottohave"divulgedastatesecret."Xinhua,however,firmlysupportedXu'sdecisiontoreportthestory. 　　Xusaidthat,onthe30thanniversaryoftheearthquake,itisworthlookingbackatthisunusualexperience. 　　"Ihopethatboththegovernmentandthemediawilllearnalessonfromthisandfurtherimprovecoverageofmajornaturaldisastersandotheremergencies,"hesaid. 　　Reportingdeathsfromnaturalcalamitiesusedtobetabooforgovernmentofficials.Analystsbelievethatduringtheplannedeconomyperiodfromtheearly1950stothelate1970s,thegovernmentfearedthatexposingdeathfiguresmighttarnishitsimage,drawblamefromthepublic,ortriggersocialturmoil. 　　ButtheoutbreakofSevereAcuteRespiratorySyndrome(SARS)in2003,andinparticularthesackingofthemayorofBejingandMinisterofHealthforcoveringupthe