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Show DAILY Sunday, May 25,2008 HERALD A15 Parents demand answers for children deaths in China Mark Magnier and Don Lee LOS ANGELES FUXIN, China had only one open door. Many students, they said, died in the crush to flee after a single, narrow stairway collapsed on TIMES - The No. 2 el- " ementary school was the only building in the area that collapsed, killing perhaps as many as 129 children. Nearby, a mud and brick house that villagers said was 1 built during the Qing Dynasty remained intact. A three-storconcrete and steel ' - S .."TV - v y ' z- them. All 20 teachers, most of whom were in the teachers' building when the quake hit, survived, several parents said. They claimed that the few teachers who were inside the school raced ahead of children to get out first, with the exception of one teacher who res- . . i 4 J 1 1644-191- o , - r- - y police building showed little damage, except for a few broken windows. "Come over here. Look at this. That's a main beam," said Zhang Daolin, 37, a farmer whose son Zhong Wei, 12, died in the school collapse. "There's no steel inside. This was a three-stor- y building. How could you hold it up?" Like Zhang, grieving parents across China repeatedly have questioned the quality of school construction following Barbara DavidsonLos Angeles Times of children who died in their school during the earthquake in China. Mourning has continued over the deaths of the schoolchildren at Fuxin No. 2 Elementary School School bags pile up behind portraits children. A long banner had children's names written in their parent's blood. Another banner directed at local and Communist Party officials read, "Leaders, you're safe, you can sleep comfortably. How about those poor children?" At the far end of the rect- - , cued several students. Like some of the other schools that have completely or partially collapsed in the quake-hi- t area, which is roughly the size of Connecticut, teachers quarters and a meeting room area around the classrooms remained largely mm; angular courtyard that was 7 rizsp the central government or the education administration for the tragic losses but rather to try to push for safer buildings. "We hope there will be real change in the way schools are built so children can study peacefully," Song said. "We just hope such a tragedy doesn't happen to anyone else." I, 1 0 A. once the school driveway, they had built a makeshift shrine. A tape recorder played Buddhist chants in a loop. Incense sticks bristled from three plastic dish pans beside burning red candles and more pictures of dead students placed on top of student desks. company. For parents like Song Min, who sat outside the school holding a picture of her smiling son, Feng Junwei, the main goal was not to blame Mianzhu Education Administration, said building safety is not his agency's responsibility and he doesn't have expertise in steel reinforcement or exits, the purview of the construction bureau. But he said a task force has been formed to investigate the collapse of the Parents said local officials have avoided them. They said officials claimed that only 50 students died. No local media had come to report the story, Parents said the three-stor- y school has sorrow building, normally used Increasingly, intensified the anger at the by more than 300 students, government. At the pile of rubble that had been Fuxin No. 2 Elementary School, 150 parents Thursday sat in long rows clutching framed pictures of their dead and haven't tried to control the media. He said he had no knowledge of the former school being leased to a private Parents said students were transferred to this school in September so that the building they previously used could be leased to an apparel f actory . They suspect officials have pocketed the proceeds. That building wasn't damaged. Zhu Qi, vice bureau chief of intact. Jintao. the magnitude 7.9 earthquake that struck in Sichuan province May 12. So many primary students died in Yingxiu that residents have talked about losing a generation. Chinese government officials have not released the number of students killed, saying only that nearly 7,000 school rooms were destroyed. Last week, amid angry questions from the public, officials of the Construction and Education ministries announced an investigation into why so many schools had collapsed. Parental rage at the weak construction of schools could become a major challenge for the government. These are not political dissidents or "troublemakers" the Communist Party can easily write off but parents who have lost children at a time of more civil or "people oriented" policies by the administration of President Hu ished," said Chen Xuefen, 32, as she cradled a picture of her son, Jing Chung. Even worse than the structural issues, some parents said, was the role authorities played. still-inta- ct - school, which was built in 1988 for $28,000 Zhu said the administration was also investigating whether teachers fled, but he said the earthquake occurred during a break so that might explain why more teachers weren't in the school. Local officials have met with parents, he said, they believe, because of local governmental pressure to cover up misdeeds. I plan to come here every day until those who approved this construction are pun- V A 7 y rl 1 ,A. 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