Promotional Video for the Earthquake Talent Show

Beyond the sheer and obvious horror of tens of thousands of dead, there are incalculable, but no doubt immense, repercussions that will afflict our nation in the long aftermath. Beyond an overwhelming and continuing need for money and aid, there are indirect, but far-reaching consequences of the disaster that we also seek to acknowledge. There is no question that the events of 5.12 left a deep impression in the Chinese collective consciousness, as well as a glaring testimony for the many years to come : countless amputees roaming about, homeless who in their own efforts will never be able to recover, post-traumatic survivors in need of life-long psychiatric treatment and orphans who now face bleak prospects without the guidance and financial support of parents. That is without counting the millions of mourning families marked by their losses. The disaster has left behind in Sichuan a small population whose lives are now defined and at every moment determined by the disaster. They continually bear their burden even long after the shock and emotion caused the initial waves of international aid. In that sense, the 5.12 events have left them forever changed. Along with them, the rest of China had also risen to the occasion to demonstrate unprecedented unity, generosity and, as I’m sure you have heard the touching stories, sense of self-sacrifice. Our aim is not only to collect aid, but also to recognize the long-lasting nature of the earthquake’s aftermath. We offer you an unforgettable night, to commemorate a disaster that cannot be forgotten as easily as the sensational media outpour and collective hype fade away.

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Google Video | June 14, 2008

Tags:. .millions. .forever. .china. .able. .tens