Upright and united stood the country

After they had observed three minutes of silence to pay their tribute to compatriots lost in the earthquake, the people gathered in the Tian'anmen Square in Beijing on Monday afternoon refused to disperse. Waving national flags and thrusting fists in the air, men and women, the elderly and children shouted, "Stand upright, China; Stand upright, Wenchuan!" and "Long live China!"

The spontaneous rallies took place in other cities as well.

The Chinese were roaring their defiance against the deadly blows of capricious nature; they were demonstrating their will to overpower any kind of adversity; and they were expressing their most profound love for their motherland that had suffered humiliations and aggressions in late modern times and suffered two major natural calamities over the past few months.