Parents of China quake victims express anger

Media more restricted now
In the first days after the quake, China's typically harsh media restrictions were relaxed, allowing both domestic and foreign reporters unusual freedom in covering the disaster. But in recent weeks, the government has begun clamping down on press liberties as hard questions have continued about corruption and shoddy construction of schools.

A reporter from Singapore's Straits Times newspaper said she was forced by police to leave the town of Juyuan and return to the provincial capital of Chengdu, about an hour away. Agence France Presse reported that two of its staffers were among at least six foreign reporters held by police when they tried to report at collapsed schools Thursday.

A day earlier, a senior Chinese official had assured journalists that access to the quake zone would continue while acknowledging that some foreign journalists reported difficulties accessing the quake area.

"We will do our best to help them," said Wang Guoqing, deputy director of the State Council's Information Office. "Our open policy remains unchanged. Overseas reporters are welcome to the quake-hit areas."

However, Wang said police had cordoned off some areas "to avoid further disturbing residents' lives," adding that the measures were not designed to ban reporters.

Some 7,000 classrooms collapsed in the quake, many in areas where no other buildings were badly affected. Parents and some engineers who surveyed the wreckage pointed to poor design, a lack of steel reinforcement bars in the concrete, and the use of other substandard building materials.

In Dujiangyan, police and troops barred parents from entering the ruined Xinjian elementary school.

One family knelt on the sidewalk in front, burning incense and pouring soda into cups as an offering to the dead. They declined to speak to a foreign journalist who slipped past road blocks.

Grieving parents gather
Jing Linzhong, the father of a killed child, said he arrived in the morning, before security forces sealed the area off, to join other parents in a vigil on the school's playground. Jing said blocking parents from visiting the site could impede the healing process.

"It's unfair," said Jing, seated with three other parents on the playground, surrounded by debris adorned with white funeral wreaths. "Some people are getting psychological counseling, but for us, we find it therapeutic simply to gather at the school and meet with each other. We have a lot in common."

Parents reached in the village of Wufu, where 270 children died in a collapsed primary school, said they were holding off on any commemorations or protests until the release of investigation results promised on or around June 20. The results may open the way for lawsuits or trials against officials and private contractors involved.

"The only thing we are doing now is waiting until the 20th," Li Caojun said in a telephone interview.

Li and another Wufu parent, Ye Yaolin, said they hadn't been threatened or intimidated, although the school site had been closed off by police. Other parents said they had been visited by police and believed their phones were being tapped.

In the traditional Chinese mourning cycle, the one-month anniversary of a death is less important than the fifth week, and some parents said they were considering holding ceremonies on June 15 — the 35th day after the quake.

More from msnbc.com Now boarding: Flight 1225 to North Pole Predictions 101: Bowl picks for Christmas weekend Cosmic Log: Pick the year’s weirdest scientific wonders ConsumerMan: Some retailers relax return policies Do you get good abs from sex — or vice versa? Kim Peek, a man who inspired more than ‘Rain Man’ Sluggish new home sales show rocky recovery

MORE FROM ASIA-PACIFIC

Asia-Pacific Section Front

Vessels collide in Philippines; 24 missing Lasers, acid used in whaling clashes Top Chinese dissident awaits verdict Destination of N. Korean arms cache is murky Filipino troops entertain volcano evacuees Asia-Pacific Section Front   Add Asia-Pacific headlines to your news reader: