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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Political Aftershocks of the Earthquake in China

    Three days of mourning are over and the Olympic torch relay has resumed, but the earthquake aftermath will trouble China for years to come.  More than 51,000 have died and 29,000 are missing. Five million are homeless and 300,000 are injured.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    Three days of mourning are over and the Olympic torch relay has resumed, but the earthquake aftermath will trouble China for years to come. More than 51,000 have died and 29,000 are missing. Five million are homeless and 300,000 are injured. Officials in Beijing say hundreds of dams have been damaged, and that landslides have created 30 new lakes behind fragile mud flows. The UN has praised China for unprecedented openness since the quake struck a week and a half ago, but a return to restrictions on news coverage seems to be under way. We update the damage and the risks to come. Can an authoritarian government survive the free flow of information?

    The full episode

    1 of 2
    China, the Earthquake, and Freedom of Speech
    1. 3:14Political Aftershocks of the Earthquake in ChinaYou’re reading this
    2. 42:33McCain and the Christian Right
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

    • KCRW placeholder

      Karen Radziner

      Managing Producer, To the Point & Which Way LA?

    • KCRW placeholder

      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Mark Magnier

      Los Angeles Times

    • KCRW placeholder

      Orville Schell

      Asia Society

    • KCRW placeholder

      Xiao Qiang

      Professor of Journalism, University of California-Berkeley

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    1 of 2
    China, the Earthquake, and Freedom of Speech
    1. 3:14Political Aftershocks of the Earthquake in ChinaYou’re reading this
    2. 42:33McCain and the Christian Right
    Back to To the Point