In this publication, we offer 1) “Walker's World: The U.S., China and food” by Martin Walker; and 2) “Historic interactions among China, Korea and Japan (II): a new chapter to Reading the Mirrors of History” by Cheng-li Lu.
On March 11 a big earthquake recorded as 9.0 on the Richter scale hit a large part of northeastern Japan including the city of Sendai, and subsequently caused a huge tsunami. The total energy of the earthquake was equivalent to approximately 450 million tons of TNT or 32,000 nuclear bombs of the type dropped on Hiroshima; the tsunami carried the energy of about 20 Hiroshima bombs. The earthquake death toll is expected to exceed ten thousand people, but there are still tens of thousands of people missing. Meanwhile, the failure of the cooling systems of the Fukushima nuclear power plant caused by the earthquake and tsunami resulted in a spate of explosions from three units, while reports of nuclear contamination emerge, shocking the international community.
In recent days, Japan has suffered multiple disasters. Even though the Japanese government has handled the radioactive disaster poorly and left many evacuees hungry, thirsty and cold in their shelters, the Japanese people have won the respect of the world in facing the compounded disaster with calm perseverance.
Among the world nations that have poured in assistance and aid to these distressed areas, China has sent its 15-man rescue team as well as aid (worth 3000 yuan or about 4.5 million US dollar) and fuel (twenty thousand tons as aid given gratis) to Japan shortly after the disaster occurred.
This nuclear disaster also warns the Japanese to rethink their nuclear energy policy: is it sensible to have built 55 nuclear power plants in the world’s most earthquake-vulnerable country?
Comments from reader Liu Yuhai (刘毓海)
看了下“北美蘑菇会”这一篇,非常有趣,谢谢啦!
Announcement from reader Ching-Sung Chin (金慶松):
華府國建聯誼會春遊活動—春暖美食賞櫻
春伴淡妝苞初放,一水倒映萬芳影。
春風暖,櫻明媚,紅蕊斜,易凋零。
這一日,總想一睹那繽紛、一挽那清香。
華府國建聯誼會將於四月初至DC的〝潮汐水盆〞(Tidal Basin)共賞櫻花的綻放繽紛。
日期:4/2或4/9(星期六)[視天氣、櫻花盛開日而定,3/30做最後決定]
時間:以下2團,可擇一參與‧‧‧
(1)美食宴+賞花團—上午11:30在中國城牌樓(H街/第7街)下集合(請搭捷運紅、黃、綠線到Gallery Place/Chinatown Station),午餐畢,前往Smithsonian Station。
(2)賞花團—下午1:30在Smithsonian Station(捷運藍、橙線上)出口集合。
報名請洽:會長萬宜生(301-983-2279)、eisenwan@gmail.com;范允強(301-299-9550)、charles.fan@verizon.net;陸秦生(703-981-7163)、samluk42@yahoo.com;金慶松(703-291-4201)、chin8673@yahoo.com。
由Smithsonian站沿獨立大道(Independence Avenue)西行至15街,左轉15街,走到底就可達〝潮汐水盆〞。〝潮汐水盆〞一圈約4哩,路途上,有二景點值得駐留:(1)托馬斯杰弗遜紀念堂(Thomas Jefferson Memorial),(2)富蘭克林羅斯福紀念館(Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial) 。吾等安步當車、隨遇而安、安評樂道,或評花貌、樹態、人生百態,或道家事、國事、天下大事。
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