Three Days of Mourning

By Jeff Moger - Friday, June 13, 2008

A three day period of mourning began at midnight for the victims and survivors of last week's earthquake. Public entertainment has been cancelled and major websites have been ordered to shut down entertainment activities and services during these three days.

Many of you may be wondering what you can do yourself to help the victims of the quake. Going to Sichuan to volunteer time is not advised and actively discouraged. Donating blood (if you're in Shanghai anyway) is a fine thing to do (you should go do it), but we were told by the Shanghai Blood Centre that blood donations here will not be making their way to the affected people in Sichuan. A cash donation is easy enough, but there is very little information on who these charities are, and what they do with donations. The Red Cross Society of China has received the lion's share of attention and donations in the past week, but we pretty much have to take it on faith that this is a reputable organization.

See previous post for donation contact details but in the meantime, we'd like to know what you or your company are doing to help. Other than getting pissed at one of the many fundraising parties popping up across Shanghai, have you made a personal commitment or donation? Is your company involved in a fundraising effort? While we're at it, how do you feel about all the "entertainment" venues holding charity events? I've heard more than one person comment that parties and tragedy do not sit well together. I'm not sure, but it seems the State Council's edict against entertainment during these three days makes a bit of a statement on that.

In the spirit of that, how about we make an extra effort to keep the Personal ads tasteful this week. In fact, why not go to Personals now, and post a message of condolence to the Notice Board. Ads for seeking "open-minded" or "generous" relationships can wait a few days.

Thanks :)