Mothers Demand Answers, 13 Years After Sichuan Quake

It's been 13 years since the massive Sichuan earthquake that killed thousands of children, and most of their parents have now given up any hope of getting justice.

But despite repeated detentions and beatings by mainland authorities, at least two mothers are refusing to stop their quest for answers as to why school buildings crumbled in the quake.

Zhou Xingrong was going to a parent-teacher meeting in the city of Dujiangyan on the afternoon of May 12, 2008 when the earthquake struck. Juyuan High School collapsed in front of her eyes, burying her 15-year-old son, Qianliang, and his classmates.

“I went to the school to think about my child, but police beat me up and detained me for 21 days. My health was destroyed and when I was discharged, my eyesight was impaired. I have been demanding justice over the ‘tofu construction’ but the court did not take up my case. After 10 years, they told me that since I didn’t file a case in court, the deadline had expired,” Zhou told RTHK.

“It’s been 13 years. I've been unfairly treated on the road in search for justice,” she said.

Zhou said she knew chances were slim that the government would apologise or give her compensation for Qianliang's death.

But she said she hoped the authorities would at least let her bury him in the public cemetery so he could be with his classmates. Her boy's remains now lie on the family's farmland, with authorities refusing permission for the cemetery burial in light of Zhou's campaigning.

Lu Biyu, whose son was also killed in the Juyuan High School collapse, told RTHK that she will continue her fight for justice, despite having been detained more than 50 times by the authorities.

She said she wants her son Xiaochuan, who was 17 when he died, to know that she has tried her best.

“Every time I see a child that looks like him, or when I see his classmates, even only for a glance, I burst into tears. I remember the injustice. Why was he sacrificed? How can I forget it? I can’t forget it,” she said.

Lu said she firmly believes that shoddy construction led to the school's collapse and she has been to various government departments over the years, searching for someone who could be held accountable.

“Many people told me to let go, saying my child is gone. I understand, but I just can’t do it," she said.