Nation in mourning

China yesterday was a land of mourners, its sadness overflowing every corner of its vast stretches. National flags were flown at half-mast throughout the country and citizens observed three minutes of silence nationwide at 2:28 pm, exactly the time when the ferocious earthquake took thousands of lives in a matter of minutes a week ago.

It was the first national mourning of its kind ever decreed by the central government for the victims of a natural disaster since the People's Republic was founded in 1949. The mourning will last for three days when all public entertainments will remain suspended.

Yesterday was the seventh day after the quake, exactly the date when the Chinese tradition requires a ceremony to mourn the dead. Following this tradition with a national ceremony, we expressed our sorrow for the death of our fellow citizens in the quake.