China Esquire

Just wanted to share some more details that Dien Yuen at Give2Asia sent my way regarding their relief fund for the Qinghai / Yushu earthquake:

Give2Asia is seeking support from donors to help the survivors with the longer-term recovery.

The Chinese government has approved 15 government-organized NGOs to raise funds for recovery and reconstruction.

Continue Reading »

With the Qinghai earthquake (a/k/a Yushu earthquake and Jiegu earthquake) relief moving along–slowly in the eyes of some, quickly in the eyes of the government–there is still great need there. I saw this post from Rich Brubaker’s blog at Collective Responsibility and am just going to borrow much of it. (Rich, I hope you don’t mind–just trying to help!)

So if you or your organization wants to donate through Tsongkha Charitable Association (TCA) or the Response team, you can transfer the funds to either of the bank accounts below. If your donation is large and you prefer it to be handled separately, we can arrange it as well. Otherwise, the team will combine your donation with other resources and purchase relief aids and distribute them together. TCA will be responsible in submitting reports to you.

In terms if needs, I talked to several people in Yushu. All of them lost their houses. Some people still received no aids (by 16:00, 15/April). They need food, drinks, tents, and electricity generators. Although CCTV is quick in propagating the swift response by troops, there still seems to be victims in unseen corners that need emergency assistance. So if you can provide any support, we can purchase needed goods and deliver them to the hands of victims as soon as possible.

If you have any question or need further information, please let me know.

Thank you for your concern,

Kelsang Norbu
Director
Tsongkha Charitable Association
Haidong, Qinghai Province
Tel: 13519714070 / 0971-6363082

Plateau Perspectives has also set up a Yushu Earthquake Relief website, with links to Chinese media that you can run through Google translate. (or if you have Chrome, get it automatically translated) The translations aren’t perfect, but its enough to know what’s happening on the ground there. For your convenience, here is the most helpful part of their page for updates:

Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China Website
http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2010-04/14/content_1580853.htm

Qinghai Province People’s Government Website
http://www.qh.gov.cn/html/31/133180.html

Qinghai Earthquake Portal
http://www.eqqh.gov.cn/zwgk/zwxx/201004/2298.shtml

Worldvision finally put up a webpage for Qinghai earthquake donations here. Because they are one of my favorite charities, I am giving them a separate post to support them. (it will also appear as an update in my original post)

Alert: China’s Qinghai province was rocked by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake on April 14. At least 400 people dead and over 10,000 reported injured. World Vision is sending an assessment team and emergency relief items to Qinghai.

Note: it is not a separate Qinghai quake fund yet. I am hoping it will become so, but as of this posting, it is not a dedicated, China-only fund. (it is, however, a earthquake relief only fund)

Your generous gift today will help provide life-saving essentials to survivors of disasters like the earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, and China.

I will keep updates coming.

UPDATE: Received a WorldVision email with some details as to what they are doing:

Adequate shelter and warm clothing for children and families is a key concern, according to Meimei Leung, who will lead World Vision’s assessment team into the affected area. She reported that temperatures in the area have been cold, and now many children and families might be without basic necessities.

“Based what we learn on the ground, we will be moving quickly to meet the needs of children, particularly to help them establish a normal routine again and stay clear of dangerous rubble,” said Leung.

Please donate!

Back in 2008 during the Sichuan quake, I posted this list of charities doing work in China in the aftermath of the quake. Now that the 6.9 quake (with aftershocks) has hit Qinghai, I wanted to do the same thing again: make sure that those who want to route funds there can do so.

I am still awaiting NGOs, GONGOs, and other organizations to start setting up their disaster relief funds for the Qinghai earthquake. Rest assured that I will be updating my blog regularly to include these funds as I see them popping up. I am hoping my favorite charity mobilizer Worldvision will act quickly.

Please check back. It’s been busy, but my M&A is now closed, and this is important to me, both because its China, and also because I am now in the non-profit sector at a soon-to-be major global NGO player.

UPDATE 1 (4/14 12am PST): From GoChengdoo, here is information for Red Cross of China:

Renminbi Donations
Account Holder: China Red Cross Society
Bank Branch: China Commercial Bank, Beijing Branch, Dongsinan Sub-branch
Account Number: 0200001009014413252

Foreign Currency Donations
Bank Branch: China Citic Bank, Jiuxian Qiao Sub-branch
Account Number: 7112111482600000209

Donations by Mail
China Red Cross Society
Address: No. 8 Beixin Qiao Santiao, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Post Code: 100007

Online Donations
Red Cross Society of China website in English

UPDATE 2 (4/14 10am PST): WorldVision has set up its website to allow for Qinghai earthquake donations here. It is not a dedicated Qinghai quake fund, but a general earthquake disaster relief fund. I have a feeling that in the coming days, they will open up a Qinghai dedicated fund of some sort.

Alert: China’s Qinghai province was rocked by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake on April 14. At least 400 people dead and over 10,000 reported injured. World Vision is sending an assessment team and emergency relief items to Qinghai.

UPDATE 3 (4/14 3pm PST): Give2Asia has set up a Qinghai earthquake disaster fund. Being friends of Give2Asia, it is an organization that I highly trust as a philanthropic service provider and intermediary. Give2Asia is partnering with the China Charity Foundation to mobilize funds:

On April 14 at 7:49 a.m. in China’s Qinghai Province, a 7.1 earthquake struck, killing at least 400 people and injuring tens of thousands, according to the China Charity Federation (CCF). The quake also destroyed 90% of the homes in the county seat, Jeigu. Give2Asia has created the 2010 Qinghai Earthquake Fund and is partnering with the CCF to deliver immediate relief to survivors, such as shelter, first aid, water and food. CCF is already on the ground working with survivors.

My top 2 recommended places (WorldVision and Give2Asia) have now opened up funds, so you have no excuse to not donate something to the relief efforts.

Also, MercyCorps (who also has a good relationship with Give2Asia–I met some of their members when China sent a delegation last year to discuss philanthropy and learn from U.S. charities) has also opened up a China earthquake fund here. According to their blog, they are already on site and assessing the situation.

UPDATE 4 (4/14 10pm): Plateau Perspectives, a foreign NGO, has officially been asked to go and help with the earthquake relief efforts by the Yushu prefecture government. (h/t Collective Responsibility) The organization has set up a separate page to cover Qinghai quake developments:

The Yushu Prefecture government has requested aid from Plateau Perspectives in the form of medical personnel, medical supplies, and temporary shelters (ie tents and blankets). We are sending an advance medical team to Yushu in about 4 hours to assess the situation, provide emergency care, and set up a base of operations for medical outreach and supply delivery. Additional supplies and medical teams will be sent shortly thereafter. There is already a solid network of medical personnel in China prepared to depart for Yushu, and gifts of cash are the easiest and quickest way that you can help out. Gifts of supplies are more difficult and time consuming to receive, and most supplies needed can be bought in the provincial capital, Xining.

Just an FYI, I’ve been very busy and haven’t been able to post.  Mrs. China Esquire and I had the privilege (and the responsibility) of bringing Baby China Esquire into the world this past week.  As a result, I haven’t been getting much sleep on top of an already rigorous work schedule.  I don’t plan to disappear completely, but if my post count remains low for the time being, you know why.  I must say, baby is awfully cute!

Well, it’s what I had expected.  Now that the media battle is over, let’s get focused on getting back to work.  I truly hope that Barack Obama ends up being a more positive figure to China and China/foreign trade now that he can stop talking tough for his constituents, and also, be a little more realistic about our nations’ mutual need for one another in a global economy.

Even CNN ran an article a few weeks back (had it sitting in my inbox) entitled “ Why the U.S. Needs China“:

China’s economy is not going to grind to a halt. But even a marginal slowdown could hurt large U.S. firms. Many of them have been able to offset sluggish growth in the United States with sales to China and other developing markets.

And it’s not certain that China’s economy will continue to keep expanding at such a rapid pace in the next few years if this credit crunch continues to persist for much longer.

There is already some evidence to suggest that the two nations may need to work together to avert more global economic pain.

When the Fed announced a coordinated interest rate cut on Oct. 8 with banks in Europe and Canada, China’s central bank also lowered interest rates that day.

The Fed’s announcement didn’t mention the Chinese rate cut and China’s central bank didn’t acknowledge the rate cuts in the United States and Europe. But does anyone honestly think that the United States and China coincidentally decided on the same day to lower interest rates?

Make no mistake. The two countries clearly realize they need each other and that economic hardship suffered by the other is not good for either. China may not have the exact problems that the U.S. does but its third-quarter GDP slowdown is definitely a sign that the credit crunch is hitting China as well.

Mr. Obama, I hope one of your people is listening.

Death toll now over 51,000… Here is donation information for the earthquake:

“ More Ways to Help in the Aftermath of the Earthquake – UPDATED!” where I track reputable charities that are taking donations to help the quake victims.

I am going to keep the red badge on the site and close this thread.  The red badge actually will take you to the above link.

I had a post on PE ready to go, but I can’t bring myself to do it. This Sichuan quake, while it doesn’t compare to the Myanmar cyclone in terms of sheer cost of human life, has been on my mind too much. And so, I will keep on topic for another day. I apologize if you came expecting law and business advice, and feel cheated.

Rich Brubaker, from All Roads Lead to China (and his other blog, China Crossroads), recommended some other charities other than the one posted in the Shanghaiist. Here is his post:

I have emails out to several friends in local NGOs catering to smaller villages, but for now I suggest:

China Charity Foundation – Partner with Red Cross

China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation

Rich also defended the quality of the China Charity Foundation on China Law Blog under the comments:

GONGO’s in China have had a bad rap for a while – partly of their own doing – however, the Red Cross and its GONGO partner China Charity Foundation have a strong reputation and are honestly the best NGO at this point.

Ironically, a close friend of mine (native Chinese) commented that China’s government will also take good care of the people, and that while charities are great, the government will definitely do its part. I sure hope so. I am guessing that all you are hoping so as well. I will try to keep yesterday’s post (entitled “Sichuan Quake Updates and Red Cross Donations – UPDATED”, here) updated to mirror Shanghaiist on a regular basis during West Coast business hours.

UPDATE: Shanghaiist reports that there are blood drives happening in China later which could help:

May 24–Thumb Square, 199 Fangdian Rd, Pudong

May 27–Level B1, Hong Kong New World Tower,
300 Huaihai Middle Rd,Puxi

Jun 15–Thumb Square, 199 Fangdian Rd, Pudong

Jun 21–Dulwich College Shanghai, Jinqiao, 200 Lanan Rd, Pudong

UPDATE 2a: Care for Children (CFC) in China. The Care for Children website is www.careforchildren.com.cn. Rich Brubaker points out two new funds being run by CFC:

Care for Children Emergency fund;
Care for children will have a team in Chengdu from Monday to;
1. Distribute Emergency aid to our 11 orphanages in Sichuan
2. Manage and co-ordinate Trauma Counselling and Trauma Counselling Training for China Social Work Association
3. Two Lorries/Trucks are heading to Chengdu with aid from the international community’s of Beijing and Shanghai.

Reconstruction fund;
1. Care for Children will work with CSWA to construct a residential community centre in Wenchuan.
2. Care for Children will help with the reconstruction of orphanages, schools and communities effecting children we serve.
3. Care for Children will train local workers and future foster parents to take the orphans from the earthquake disaster.

Please mark all donations Earthquake Appeal

UPDATE 3 (5/14): World Vision set up a special China quake fund. Their announcement:

As the death toll from the 7.9-magnitude earthquake continues to rise, World Vision offices close to the epicenter have dispatched relief and assessment teams to provide immediate supplies, such as blankets and tents, to 10,000 people, with more supplies on the way. We are asking for an additional $1 million to support the initial response.

You can donate to World Vision here. This is one relief organization that is well regarded in the international sphere, and I have no trouble endorsing it.

UPDATE 4 (5/14): Rich Brubaker also mentioned there is a great need in orphanages out in Sichuan. He writes:

Our China adoption agency (CCAI) will route your donation directly to orphanages in the earthquake area. Type: ‘Earthquake Relief’ in the Specific Project line in the on-line donation form. As the largest China adoption agency in the US, CCAI has a long track record working with orphanages, an extensive network of representatives (including in Sichuan Province) and strong relations with the Chinese government. CCAI is a 501-3C charitable organization. I whole-heartedly endorse CCAI.
http://www.chinesechildren.org/Sichuan_earthquake.aspx

UPDATE 5 (5/14): The American Red Cross also has a China disaster fund set up here.

UPDATE 6 (5/15): China Children & Teenagers Fund (CCTF) website can be found here. From CN Reviews:

CCTF has formed a charity foundation for earthquake relief with with China Merchant Bank (CMB). Source from Sohu.

Account Name: China Children and Teenagers’ Fund
Bank Name: Bank of China, Head Office, Banking Department
Bank Address: No.1 Fuxingmennei Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, China
Account Number: 0005 8908 0910 14
SWIFT?BKCH CN BJ

UPDATE 7 (5/15): Samaritan’s Purse, run by Franklin Graham (son of famous crusader Billy Graham), has given $285,000 so far. Shanghaiist reports:

Looks like evangelist Franklin Graham who previously made the news in the China Daily for “hoping to do more for China” is seriously putting his money where his mouth is. Speaking from Shanghai after a tour of Beijing, Hangzhou and Nanjing, the CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (named after his dad) and international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse has just donated a whopping RMB2 million, or US$285,000. That’s a whole lot of money, ladies and gentlemen! To put things into perspective, even Singapore, which has one of the world’s highest GDP per capita, only managed a paltry US$200,000 or RMB1.4 million.

Samaritan’s purse is taking China quake donations here.

UPDATE 8 (5/16): Chengdu YMCA needs help according to China Crossroads:

I have receieved the 2 emails from the YMCA, who need assistance with putting roofs onto their facilities. If anyone can assist them, please reach out to Larry Lieving (llieving @ yahoo.com)

Please consider the YMCA of Chengdu as a possibility for your assistance.

Right now we need to get roofs on our buildings. We do not have rooms at the YMCA or the orphanage. We had to send the orphanage kids home. We need to do the roof as soon as possible and get the kids back. We do have a guest room at the orphanage which will be usable when the roof is on. Do you have volunteers that are roofers?

UPDATE 9 (5/17): I had this in my other post, but have moved it here to keep one post for updates and the other for donation sources. Here is how to donate to the Chinese Red Cross:

If for some reason this list isn’t enough, then CN Reviews has a very comprehensive list here. Again, the key is not more information, but to just give.

The Shanghaiist posted where the Chinese Red Cross is taking donations and constantly updating the blog with developments. It is also getting thoroughly hammered right now, so I wanted to post this information for all readers.

(I have a separate post that details many charitable organizations, and it is being updated regularly. Please click here if you are looking for other ways to donate to the relief efforts.)

I wanted to help people figure out what was going on with the quake. The Shanghaiist had started a separate post for the aftershocks that have occurred since the main earthquake. Here it is:

A second earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale has hit Sichuan province, 24 hours after a 7.9 earthquake struck Wenchuan, 92km northwest of Chengdu. A quake of 5.0 magnitude was measured this morning at 7:19am at the epicentre and this afternoon at 15:07pm a 6.1 magnitude quake hit, hampering the ongoing rescue efforts in the region.

Latest estimates put the possible death toll at more than 10,000 although this figure looks set to rise given the remoteness of some of the areas hit. In the worst effected areas, numerous buildings have collapsed trapping people under the rubble. The mountainous terrain, as well as landslides and poor weather, are hampering the efforts of relief services to get to those in need. The Chinese Red Cross has appealed for donations to help with rescue efforts. Japan, Russia, Taiwan, and Germany have been amongst those who have offered assistance while the Li Ka Shing foundation has donated 30 million RMB and Carrefour 2 million RMB.

In Chengdu and Chongqing, numerous buildings were evacuated and people flooded the streets, with many unsure exactly what was happening. Fearing aftershocks and further earthquakes, some residents have spent the night in their cars or out in the open.

CCTV have just broadcast a live press conference from the State Council. In response to a question about official warnings on the internet before the earthquake hit, one official said, “Such speculation is unreasonable.”

UPDATE 1, 5:40PM Pictures of the earthquake devastation from the BBC and Yahoo.
More graphic pictures here. (WARNING: Some of the pictures are graphic in nature!)

UPDATE 2, 6:00PM The Times (UK) reports that 10,000 are dead while another 10,000 are feared missing or buried in the rubble. The Guardian has an interview with reporter Tania Branigan who describes the scene at the earthquake zone, “through the streets you see these enormous piles where buildings have collapsed”

UPDATE 3, 6:05PM The Times just revised those numbers to 12,000 dead, 5,000 more buried. APA say 60,000 are missing.

UPDATE 4, 7:30PM For you Beijingists: Sichuan Earthquake Benefit Concert, Mao Live House, Gulou Dong Dajie, BJ. Wed May 14th 8pm. 50RMB

UPDATE 5, 8:00PM The Guardian now has a video and a full written report from Tania Branigan who (as we mentioned earlier) is at the earthquake zone. She writes that many people’s anguish is quickly turning to anger, quoting one resident of Dujiangyan (where a school building has collapsed) as saying:

“These buildings outside have been here for 20 years and didn’t collapse – the school was only 10 years old. [Government officials] took the money from investment, so they took the lives of hundreds of kids. They have money for prostitutes and second wives but they don’t have money for our children. This is not a natural disaster – this is done by humans.”

UPDATE 6, 7:26AM The BBC is reporting that a group of 31 British tourists have turned up safe and well in Chengdu following a trip to the Wolong Panda Reserve. It is still unclear if this group is the same as the group of 19 British tourists previously reported missing in the area

UPDATE 7, 7:40AM Rescue teams have finally made it through to the epicentre of the earthquake this morning. The BBC reports that a few hundred soldiers and police have managed to get to the area despite adverse weather conditions and broken roads. “They found 500 bodies within a few hours – but have still not searched many devastated areas”. The report states that an estimated 60,000 people are still missing

UPDATE 8, 8:04AM The NY Times is saying that, despite protests from people within China and calls for it to be temporarily halted, the Olympic Torch relay will continue. It will, however, be scaled down according to a statement from the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games:

“As the entire nation directs efforts to the common purpose of helping the region recover from the disaster, BOCOG has decided, after consultations with Jiangxi and other provinces, that beginning with the relay in Jiangxi Province, it will simplify procedures, emphasize simplicity and efficiency while putting safety first during the relay. And prior to the start of the torch relay, all relay participants will observe one minute of silence to extend condolences to the victims of the tragedy. Donation boxes will be set up at the starting and finishing points and along the torch relay route to encourage people to help with the relief work.”

ADDED (5/15): Shanghaiist reports this positive news: Foreign workers have been allowed into the earthquake zone in this post:

UPDATE, 18:09 The first Japanese relief workers are expected to leave tonight. A group of 60 earthquake specialists together with sniffer dogs will head to Sichuan over the next few days. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has appealed for earth-moving equipment to aid rescue efforts in the region. Many relief workers are currently sifting through the rubble with their hands according to ABC News. The latest official death toll stands at 19,500 but is expected to rise sharply over the coming days.

ADDED (5/15): There is also a post that there are still fears that dams and nuclear sites may be damaged:

As we told you earlier, there had been very real fears that the Zipingba Dam, 6 miles upstream from the devastated city of Dujiangyan, was displaying “extremely dangerous” cracks. The People’s Daily is now reporting that the dam is “structurally stable and safe” following a full inspection.

Nevertheless, despite official reassurances, fears persist over other dam projects in the area with The Associated Press still reporting that hundreds of structures could be at risk.

“The National Development Reform Commission, China’s top economic planning body, said the earthquake had damaged 391 dams. It said two of the dams were large ones, 28 were medium-sized and the rest were small ones.”

Landslides have reportedly caused rivers to be blocked in Qingchuan County, creating an enormous lake, with Xinhua quoting Li Hao, the county’s Communist Party chief, as saying: “The rising water could cause the mountains to collapse. We desperately need geological experts to carry out tests and fix a rescue plan”. As the International Herald Tribune points out, “much depends on efforts to reduce the menacing pressure of water behind the dam walls”, if further disaster is to be averted.

ADDED (5/16): The Shanghaiist has slowed its updates on the quake, but CNN and Xinhua have not. Here is the latest from CNN:

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said Friday that a devastating earthquake in southwest China destroyed or heavily damaged 436,000 properties leading to 4.8 million homeless, according to official figures.

The suffering of Sichuan’s inhabitants has been prolonged by repeated aftershocks, some 4,400 since the quake hit, according to Baodong.

The latest aftershock hit quake-damaged areas Friday, triggering landslides, blocking roads, knocking out phone lines and burying vehicles, state-run media reported.

The 5.5-magnitude earthquake rattled Sichuan shortly after President Hu Jintao arrived in the quake zone to get a first-hand look at the devastated region.

As frantic search-and-rescue efforts entered a fifth day, the official death toll issued by authorities in Sichuan Province now stood at 22,069, with 14,000 still buried, 159,000 injured and 4.8 million homeless, according to China’s Xinhua state news agency. China’s state council said Thursday that the number of dead could eventually top 50,000.

I had to highlight the numbers… this is a breathtaking amount of destruction.

ADDED (5/17): CNN reports:

Thousands of Chinese earthquake victims and rescuers are fleeing areas near the epicenter over fears of floods from a river blocked by landslides.

The stampede of thousands of people on Saturday afternoon came as Chinese officials said the official death toll from the earthquake had risen to 28,881 people with 198,347 injured.

ADDED (5/17): CNN reports the following shocking admission:

China’s State Council says the number of deaths could top 50,000.

***I am going to close this thread. There is a wealth of information on the internet and Shanghaiist has been working just fine.***