Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States and Sichuan schools corruption scandal: Difference between pages

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[[Image:2008 Sichuan earthquake map no labels.svg|thumb|The extent of the earthquake]]
{{SCOTUS}}
:''See also: [[2008 Sichuan earthquake#Collapse of schools|Collapse of schools in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake]]''
The '''[[demographics]] of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]''' have been raised as an issue since the Court was established in 1789. The gender and racial composition of the Court was largely stable for its first 180 years, with only a few deviations from the norm of [[white]] [[male]] [[Protestantism|Protestants]].<ref>Jeffrey A. Segal, Harold J. Spaeth, ''The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited'' (2002) p. 183.</ref> Prior to the twentieth century, a few [[Roman Catholic]]s were appointed, but concerns about "diversity" of the Court were mainly in terms of ''geographic'' diversity, as opposed to ethnic, religious, or gender diversity.<ref>David M. O'Brien, ''Storm Center'', Sixth ed. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2003), p. 46.</ref>
'''{{pagename}}''' arose following the high number of collapsed school structures during the [[2008 Sichuan earthquake]], in the [[People's Republic of China]]. Despite attempts by the [[Government of the People's Republic of China|Chinese government]] to downplay or even suppress<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/03/chinaearthquake.china?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront "Police break up protest by parents of China earthquake victims"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', June 3, 2008 </ref> the criticism, which emanated especially from grieving parents,<ref>[http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20080613_Parents__anger_still_rising_over_schools__quake_collapse.html "Parents' anger still rising over schools' quake collapse"], ''[[Associated Press]]'' via ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'', June 13, 2008</ref> the scandal continued to gain momentum throughout [[May 2008|May]] and [[June 2008|June]] of 2008.


==Claims of corruption==
Presidents for the first century generally would try to appoint justices to represent all [[Regionalism (politics)|geographic regions]] of the country. Only six Jews have served. Later came African-Americans and women. In the late twentieth century, Court observers have focused on gender and ethnicity, along with religion. For example, the most recent confirmations of two white male [[Roman Catholic]] Justices, ([[John Roberts]] and [[Samuel Alito]]), means that the Court will remain overwhelmingly white and male, while becoming majority Catholic for the first time.
The grieving parents and critical journalists pointed out that "hundreds of schools collapsed instantly — even newly constructed ones — while older buildings nearby were often unscathed."<ref name="gm">[http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080616.CHINA16/TPStory/TPInternational/Asia/ "Beijing can't muzzle outrage over deadly collapsed schools"], ''[[Globe & Mail]]'', June 17, 2008</ref> This, in turn, has led to allegations of corruption on the part of [[Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China|Education Ministry]] officials and contractors who were said to be complicit in constructing the school buildings dangerously below government-mandated standards, while pocketing the remaining surplus.<ref name="gm"/> On May 26, Wang Xuming, a spokesman for the Education Ministry, stated that the ministry would complete a reassessment of school buildings in quake zones and that those who had cut corners on school construction would be “severely punished.”<ref>“China reiterates severe punishment for companies producing substandard building materials,” Xinhua, May 29, 2008, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/29/content_8279397.htm.</ref> Some parents protested what they argued, one month after the event, amounts to government inaction.<ref>[http://news.smh.com.au/world/parents-in-uprising-in-china-quake-town-20080613-2px8.html "Parents in uprising in China quake town"], ''[[Associated Press]]'' via ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'', June 12, 2008</ref>


===Factors in building collapse===
==Introduction==
Because members of the Court are appointed by the [[President of the United States]] and approved by the [[United States Senate]], the demographics of the Court have political symbolism.<ref>David M. O'Brien, ''Storm Center'', Sixth ed. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2003), p. 54.</ref> Every U.S. President has been a white male, and all have been [[Protestant]]s except for [[John F. Kennedy]], a Catholic, [[Richard M. Nixon]], a nominal [[Quaker]], and [[Herbert Hoover]], also a Quaker. Neither of Kennedy's appointments were Catholic, however - [[Byron R. White]] was Protestant, and [[Arthur Goldberg]] was [[Jewish]]. None of Hoover's three or Nixon's four appointments was a Quaker, although Hoover appointed a Jewish Justice, and one of Nixon's appointees - [[William H. Rehnquist]] - was the Court's first [[Lutheran]]. However, the Court is not a representative body, and the gender, race, educational background or religious views of the Justices has played little role in their jurisprudence; thus, [[Clarence Thomas]] and [[Thurgood Marshall]] are both black, and have similar personal backgrounds, yet have radically different judicial philosophies; [[William J. Brennan, Jr.|William Brennan]] and [[Antonin Scalia]] shared Catholic faith and a [[Harvard Law School]] education, but shared little in the way of jurisprudential philosophies. Before Justice [[Sandra Day O'Connor]]'s retirement, she and fellow female Justice [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]], while not polar opposites, voted together no more often than with their male colleagues, and no particular "female perspective" can be discerned from their opinions.<ref>Thomas R. Marshall, ''Public Opinion and the Rehnquist Court'' (2008), p. 109.</ref>


The earthquake has caused collapse of more than 6.5 million buildings and damages to 23 million more. Four factors determine the damage to a particular building, according to geologist LIU Jie ({{zh-sp|s=刘杰|p=Líu Jié}}), Director of Earthquake Prediction Department of (China's) Center for Seismic Monitoring Station Network under the [[China Earthquake Administration]] ('''CEA'''), who arrived in quake zone the same day of the main quake. Besides the quake's [[Seismic scale#Magnitude scales|magnitude]] and [[Seismic scale#Intensity scales|intensity]] in the area, location of the building plays an important role. In some towns Liu surveyed, all buildings sitting on the earthquake [[fault line]] collapsed, while buildings tens of meters away did not. A building's structure also plays a role. Buildings with larger spans tend to collapse more easily. The fourth factor is the quality of the building. If a building's designed fortification intensity is above the quake's intensity at the location, the collapse of a building can be definitively attributed to its engineering quality, Liu explained. On the other hand, if the quake's intensity exceeds the designated code, it would be hard to determine whether the engineering quality is the deciding factor of its collapse.<ref name="damage">
==Ethnicity==
{{cite web | title=Experts explain Great Wenchuan Earthquake (权威详解汶川大地震)
[[Image:Thurgood-marshall-2.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Thurgood Marshall]], the first African-American Justice.]]
| publisher=Sichuan Earthquake Administration (SCEA, 四川地震局)
All U.S. Supreme Court Justices were white until the appointment of Thurgood Marshall, the first [[African-American]] Justice, in 1967. Since then, only one other non-white Justice has been appointed, Marshall's African-American successor, [[Clarence Thomas]]. In statistical terms, 108 of the 110 Justices appointed, or 98.2%, have been white.
| url=http://www.eqsc.gov.cn/manage/html/ff808181126bebda01126bec4dd00001/_content/08_08/05/1217907519725.html
|accessdate=2008-08-05
|language=Chinese }}
</ref>


=== Modes of building collapse ===
[[Benjamin Cardozo]], appointed to the Court in 1932, was the first Justice of non-[[northern Europe]]an descent. A few historians contend that Cardozo, a [[Sephardic Jew]] of [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] descent and fluent in Spanish, should also be counted as the first [[Hispanic]] Justice.<ref>Jeffrey A. Segal, Harold J. Spaeth, ''The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited'' (2002) p. 183. The authors state: "Though it is often claimed that no Hispanics have served on the Court, it is not clear why Benjamin Cardozo, a Sephardic Jew of Spanish heritage, should not count". They identify a number of other sources that present conflicting views as to Cardozo's ethnicity, with one simply labeling him "Iberian".</ref> The majority view is that only whites and African-Americans have ever been represented on the Court.


Despite these factors, some civil engineers in China expressed a different view and joined the public in criticizing the initial official attribution of school collapses. According to a news network [http://www.caijing.com.cn/ Finance and Economics] based in [[Beijing]], China, "they pointed out that earthquake (intensity) exceeding the designed resistance does not mean that buildings built to quality specifications will definitely collapse. Even when they collapse, there exist different modes of collapses; (building collapses) do not necessarily lead to such heavy human casualties."<ref name="Poor quality">
Justice Antonin Scalia, who is of [[Sicily|Sicilian]] heritage, was appointed in 1986, and Justice [[Samuel Alito]] was appointed in 2006. They are the first Justices of [[Italian people|Italian]] descent to be appointed to the Supreme Court.
{{ cite news
| url=http://www.caijing.com.cn/2008-06-03/100067212.html
| title=Collapse of schools were due to poor quality of buildings (学校倒塌缘于建筑质量过差)
| publisher=Finance and Economics (《财经》)
| author=Zhang, Yingguang; Chen, Zhongxiaolu, Yang, Binbin (张映光 陈中小路 杨彬彬)
| date=2008-06-03
| accessdate=2008-09-30
| language=Chinese}}
{{zh-s|s=他们指出，地震超过预计强度，并不意味着符合建筑质量标准的建筑物必然倒塌。即使倒塌，由于建筑质量的差异，也有不同的倒塌方式，并不意味着必然造成如此重大的人员伤亡。}}
</ref>


Collapse of a building may be brittle or ductile. If a building is built to seismic design specifications, according to a Chinese civil engineer's blog, it will bend and deform yet not collapse immediately, allowing time for people inside to escape. This did not seems to be the case in Wenchuan, where large number of buildings collapsed momentarily.
Public opinion about ethnic diversity on the court "varies widely depending on the poll question's wording".<ref>Thomas R. Marshall, ''Public Opinion and the Rehnquist Court'' (2008), p. 109.</ref> For example, in two polls taken in 1991, one resulted in half of respondants agreeing that it was "important that there always be at least one black person" on the Court while the other had only 20% agreeing with that sentiment, and with 77% agreeing that "race should never be a factor in choosing Supreme Court justices".<ref>Thomas R. Marshall, ''Public Opinion and the Rehnquist Court'' (2008), p. 109.</ref>


Additionally, civil engineers generally understand the intensity code in seismic design signifies the minimum resistance to earthquakes.
==Gender==
[[Image:O'connor, Sandra.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Sandra Day O'Connor]], first woman Justice.]]
All U.S. Supreme Court Justices were males until 1981, when [[Ronald Reagan]] fulfilled his 1980 campaign promise to place a woman on the Court,<ref>David M. O'Brien, ''Storm Center'', Sixth ed. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2003), p. 53.</ref> which he did with the appointment of [[Sandra Day O'Connor]]. O'Connor was later joined on the Court by [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]], appointed by [[Bill Clinton]] in 1993. The only other woman to officially be nominated to the Court was [[Harriet Miers]], whose nomination to succeed O'Connor was withdrawn under fire. President [[Richard Nixon]] named [[Mildred Lillie]], then serving on an [[California Courts of Appeal|Second District Court of Appeal of California]], as a potential nominee to fill one of two vacancies on the Court in 1971.<ref>David M. O'Brien, ''Storm Center'', Sixth ed. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2003), p. 53.</ref> However, Lillie was quickly deemed unqualified by the [[American Bar Association]], and no formal proceedings were ever set with respect to her potential nomination. [[Lewis Powell]] and [[William Rehnquist]] were then successfully nominated to fill those vacancies.


{{Quotation | Buildings strictly built to the specifications of civil planning would not collapse during an earthquake. Any building that collapsed instantaneously must not have conformed to civil planning. Either the design was unfit, or the engineering was unfit.<ref>
In 1991, a poll found that 53% of Americans felt it "important that there always be at least one woman" on the Court.<ref>Thomas R. Marshall, ''Public Opinion and the Rehnquist Court'' (2008), p. 109.</ref> However, when O'Connor stepped down from the Court, leaving Justice Ginsburg as the lone remaining woman, only one in seven persons polled found it "essential that a woman be nominated to replace" O'Connor.<ref>Thomas R. Marshall, ''Public Opinion and the Rehnquist Court'' (2008), p. 109.</ref>
{{ cite news
| url=http://www.caijing.com.cn/2008-06-03/100067212.html
| title=Collapse of schools were due to poor quality of buildings (学校倒塌缘于建筑质量过差)
| publisher=Finance and Economics (《财经》)
| author=Zhang, Yingguang; Chen, Zhongxiaolu, Yang, Binbin (张映光 陈中小路 杨彬彬)
| date=2008-06-03
| accessdate=2008-09-30
| language=Chinese}}
{{zh-s|s=“如果按照建筑规划严格施工的建筑，在地震中并不会倒塌。凡是瞬间垮塌的房屋，肯定不符合建筑规划要求。要么设计不符合，要么施工不符合。” }}
</ref>
| LIANG Wei ({{zh-sp|s=梁伟|p=Liáng Wěi}}), Executive Vice President of the Urban Planning Design and Research Institute of [[Tsinghua University]]
}}


=== Seismic fortification for schools in the quake zone ===
In statistical terms, 108 of the 110 Justices appointed, or 98.2%, have been men.


Post-quake survey indicated the intensity near the epicenter of the earthquake to be XI '''[[China Seismic Intensity Scale|liedu]]''',<ref name="CEA intensity">{{cite web
==Sexual orientation==
| publisher=China Earthquake Administration (CEA)
With regards to [[sexual orientation]], no Supreme Court Justice has been identified as other than [[Heterosexuality|heterosexual]]. [[G. Harrold Carswell]], who was unsuccessfully nominated by [[Richard Nixon]] in 1970, was later arrested and convicted in 1976 of [[battery (crime)|battery]] for making an "unnatural and lascivious" advance to an undercover police officer in a Florida men's room.<ref>Joyce Murdoch, Deb Price, ''Courting Justice: Gay Men and Lesbians V. the Supreme Court'' (2002) p. 187.</ref> Some therefore claim him as the first (and, thus far, only) [[homosexual]] or [[bisexual]] nominated to the Court.<ref>Keith Stern, ''Queers in History'' (2006), p. 84 (stating of Carswell, "He's the only known homosexual to have been nominated to the Supreme Court, though he was in the closet"); [[John Dean|John Wesley Dean]], ''The Rehnquist Choice: The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment That Redefined the Supreme Court'' (2001) p. 20.</ref> Nixon's [[Attorney General of the United States|Attorney General]] [[John Dean]] later wrote of Carswell that "[w]hile Richard Nixon was always looking for historical firsts, nominating a homosexual to the high court would not have been on his list".<ref>[[John Dean|John Wesley Dean]], ''The Rehnquist Choice: The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment That Redefined the Supreme Court'' (2001) p. 20.</ref>
| url=http://www.cea.gov.cn/manage/html/8a8587881632fa5c0116674a018300cf/_content/08_09/01/1220238314350.html
| title=Intensity map of the M8.0 earthquake in Wenchuan (汶川8.0级地震烈度分布图)
| date=2008-08-29
| accessdate=2008-09-10
| language=Chinese
}}
</ref>
far exceeding the seismic fortification intensity of VII liedu assigned to [[Wenchuan County|Wenchuan]], Sichuan in '''GB 500011-2001''', a national standard for seismic design published in 2001.<ref>
{{cite paper
| first=Taiki | last=SAITO
| title=Earthquake design spectrum in Chinese Design Code
| publisher=International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering (IISEE)
| date=2008-05-13
| url=http://iisee.kenken.go.jp/special/20080512/Chinese_Design_Code_English.pdf
| format=[[PDF]]
| accessdate=2008-09-29
|format=PDF}}
</ref>
[[Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County|Beichuan]], center of the other XI-liedu area, had been zoned for VI liedu. (Zoning for Wenchuan, Beichuan and several other cities in Sichuan were subsequently revised to VIII liedu, the second highest rating in the standard.<ref name="GB 500011-2001, App A">{{cite web
| author=XU, Zhengzhong; WANG, Yayong; et al (徐正忠、王亚勇等)
| url=http://www.morgain.com/Help/GB50011-2001/A.htm
| title=Code for seismic design of buildings (GB 500011-2001) (partially revised in 2008), Appendix A ( 《建筑抗震设计规范》（GB 500011－2001） （2008 年局部修订） 附录 A 我国主要城镇抗震设防烈度、设计基本地震加速度和设计地震分组)
| publisher=Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of PRC (MOHURD, 中华人民共和国住房和城乡建设部)
| year=2001
| accessdate=2008-09-29
| language=Chinese
}}
</ref>)


'''GB50223-2004''', the national standard for classification of civil siesmic fortification before the earthquake, specified Class B for schools exceeding 600 in capacity, kindergartens and child care centers exceeding 200, meaning they must be built to at least 1 liedu higher than the zoned seismic fortification intensity of the area. However, it contained a provision to allow low-rise (3 stories and lower) schools to be built to meet the area's fortification intensity (Class C).<ref>
Speculation has abounded about the sexual orientation of a few Justices who were lifelong bachelors. Benjamin Cardozo led a [[celibate]] life, and the fact that he was unmarried and was personally tutored by the writer [[Horatio Alger, Jr.|Horatio Alger]] (who had been accused of inappropriate sexual relations with young boys) led some of Cardozo's biographers to insinuate that Cardozo was a homosexual, but no real evidence exists to corroborate this possibility. Constitutional law scholar [[Jeffrey Rosen]] noted in a [[New York Times]] Book Review of Richard Polenberg's book on Cardozo:
{{ cite web
<blockquote>Polenberg describes Cardozo's lifelong devotion to his older sister Nell, with whom he lived in New York until her death in 1929. When asked why he had never married, Cardozo replied, quietly and sadly, ''I never could give Nellie the second place in my life.'' Polenberg suggests that friends may have stressed Cardozo's devotion to his sister to discourage rumors ''that he was sexually dysfunctional, or had an unusually low sexual drive or was homosexual.'' But he produces no evidence to support any of these possibilities, except to note that friends, in describing Cardozo, used words like ''beautiful'', ''exquisite,'' ''sensitive'' or ''delicate.''<ref>Jeffrey Rosen, [http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/11/02/reviews/971102.02rosent.html?_r=1&oref=slogin NYT Nov. 2, 1997]</ref></blockquote>
| url=http://www.shuigong.com/papers/jianzhu/20051113/paper4797.shtml
| title=Common Class B and Class A buildings ({{zh-s|s=常见的乙类、甲类建筑}})
| publisher=Water Resources Engineering Network (水利工程网)
| author=LIU, Yongguang (刘永光)
| date=2005-10-12
| accessdate=2008-09-30
| language=Chinese
}}
</ref> (The government rushed a revision to the standard after the Wenchuan earthquake. '''GB 50223-2008''' has removed both the provision regarding capacity and the one regarding height to require all schools to meet Class B.<ref>
{{ cite paper
| url=http://www.cin.gov.cn/gsgg/gg/jsbgg/200808/P020080804625275781887.doc
| format=MS-Word
| title=Standard for classification of seismic protection of building constructions (建筑工程抗震设防分类标准)
| publisher=[http://english.aqsiq.gov.cn/ General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine] (AQSIQ) and [http://www.mohurd.gov.cn/ Ministry of Housing ande Urban-Rural Development] (MOHURD) of PRC.
| author=WANG, Yayong; DAI, Guoying (王亚勇 戴国莹) et al.
| date=2008-07-30
| accessdate=2008-09-30
| language=Chinese
}}
</ref>)


In perspective, Yingxiu Primary School had a collapsed 4-story building built in 1999, where 3/4 of the 473 students were dead,<ref>
Andrew Kaufman, author of ''Cardozo'' a biography published in 2000, notes that "Although one cannot be absolutely certain, it seems highly likely that Cardozo lived a celibate life".<ref>[[Andrew Kaufman]], ''Cardozo'' (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998), p. 68.</ref> Judge Learned Hand is quoted in the book as saying about Cardozo: "He [had] no trace of homosexuality anyway."<ref>[[Andrew Kaufman]], ''Cardozo'' (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998), p. 68-69.</ref> Similar speculation has been directed at Justice [[Frank Murphy]]:
{{ cite news
| url=http://edu.people.com.cn/GB/1053/7272971.html
| title=Principal of Yingxiu Primary School hears cry for help during dreams ({{zh-s|s=映秀小学校长梦中听见救命声}})
| publisher=New Capical Newspaper via People.com.cn (人民网转载《新京报》)
| date=2008-05-21
| accessdate=2008-09-30
| language=Chinese
}}
</ref>
whereas Xuankou Middle School had several collapsed buildings from 3 to 4 stories built in 2006, where more than 80% of the 1,200+ students stayed alive.<ref>
{{ cite news
| url=http://www.hljnews.cn/xw_shxw/system/2008/05/25/010162469.shtml
| title=Xuankou Middle School in Yingxiu: 1,200 students and teachers dug potatoes to feed themselves (映秀镇漩口中学：1200名师生挖土豆充饥)
| publisher=Southern Weekend (《南方周末》)
| date=2008-05-25
| accessdate=2008-09-30
| language=Chinese
}}
</ref>
Both schools are located in the town of [[Yingxiu]], Wenchuan nearly at the epicenter of the main quake. Beichuan Middle School in Beichuan where 80% of buildings collapsed had two collapsed 5-story buildings completed in 1998 that were once named "high quality buildings," killing nearly half of its 2,000+ students.<ref>
{{ cite web
| url=http://bczx.changhong.com/
| title=Eye witnesses of the earthquake disaster in Beichuan Middle School, Sichuan ({{zh-s|s=四川北川中学震灾纪实}})
| publisher=bczx.changhong.com
| accessdate=2008-10-01
| language=Chinese }}
</ref><ref>
{{ cite news
| url=http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2008-05-26/023915616432.shtml
| title=Executive Vice Mayor of Mianyang: (We) shall investigate qualify of buildings in Beichuan Middle School ({{zh-s|s=绵阳常务副市长：将鉴定北川中学教学楼质量}})
| publisher=First Finance and Economics Daily (《第一财经日报》) via Sina.com
| date=2008-05-26
| accessdate=2008-10-01
| language=Chinese }}
</ref>
Following GB50223-2004, Xuankou Middle School should have been built to resist VII + I liedu in seismic intensity. Beichuan Middle School and Yingxiu Primary School could have passed with fortification intensity of VII liedu had they been built after 2004; but because they were built before the publication of even GB 500011-2001, they could be using older standards or none at all.<ref>Standards cited in this article do not contain provisions about mandatory [[seismic retrofit]].</ref>


== Attempt to interfere with survey ==
<blockquote>Throughout his tenure on the Court, Justice Murphy shared a hotel suite at the Hotel Washington with Edward Kemp. Murphy and Kemp first met while undergraduates at the University of Michigan, and they subsequently attended law school at Michigan. After studying abroad in England, the two men returned to the United States and Kemp began a lifelong career as Murphy's personal assistant and political adviser. It has been suggested... that Kemp and Murphy were possibly romantically and emotionally linked.<ref>Todd C. Peppers, ''Courtiers of the Marble Palace: The Rise and Influence of the Supreme Court Law Clerk'' (2006), p. 111, citing Joyce Murdoch and Deb Price, ''Courting Justice: Gay Men and Lesbians v. The Supreme Court'' (New York: Basic Books, 2001) p. 19-21.</ref></blockquote>


In justifying the relatively long time CEA used to produce the intensity diagram of the Wenchuan earthquake, Vice President of [http://www.iaee.or.jp/ International Association for Earthquake Engineering] XIE Lili ({{zh-sp | s=谢礼立 | p=Xiè Lǐlì}}) who was a member of the survey team indicated that "some (local government) may want to make more serious estimations of earthquake damage, so they could obtain more compensation,"<ref>
More recently, when [[David Hackett Souter]] was nominated to the Court, "conservative groups expressed concern to the White House... that the president's bachelor nominee might conceivably be a homosexual".<ref>[[Tinsley E. Yarbrough]], "David Hackett Souter: Traditional Republican on the Rehnquist Court" (Oxford University Press, 2005), p. viii.</ref> However, no evidence has ever surfaced regarding Souter's sexual orientation.
{{ cite news
| url=http://www.caijing.com.cn/2008-09-01/110009619.html
| title=CEA formally releases intensity diagram of the Wenchuan earthquake (中国地震局正式公布汶川地震烈度分布图)
| publisher=Financial and Economic News (《财经报》)
| author=LI, Jun (李军)
| date=2008-09-01
| accessdate=2008-09-30
| language=Chinese }}
{{zh-s|s=有的受灾地区可能希望将地震破坏程度评估得严重一些，这样可以多争取补助；}}
</ref>
hinting attempts to interfere with the survey. The same news article quoted ''persons in the know'' who suggested that another motivation for attempted interference would be to boost intensity in order to evade responsibility for not following seismic design codes. Despite later denial by CEA that the published intensity reflected such interference, MA Zongjin ({{zh-sp|s=马宗晋|p=Mǎ Zōngjìn}}), Chairman of the National Expert Committee for Wenchuan Earthquake who is also the Chairman of the National Expert Committee for Disaster Prevention, openly confirmed that "some local workers wanted to increase (report of) local damages or seismic intensity"<ref>
{{ cite news
| url=http://web.xwwb.com/wb2008/wb2008news.php?db=4&thisid=21623
| title=Direct damage of the Great Wenchuan Earthquake amounts to RMB 84.51 trillion (汶川大地震直接损失８４５１亿)
| publisher=Noon News based on [[Xinhua News]] (新闻午报据新华社北京9月4日电)
| date=2008-09-04
| accessdate=2008-09-30
| language=Chinese}}
{{zh-s|s=一些地方的工作人员，都希望把地方的灾害损失或者地震烈度提高一下}}
</ref>
in a press conference sponsored by the [[Information Office of the State Council|State Council State Council Information Office]] of the PRC.


==Suppression of dissent==
==Religion==
In July 2008, Local governments in southwest China’s quake-ravaged Sichuan Province began a coordinated campaign to hush up angry parents whose children died during the earthquake through monetary contracts. If the parents refused, officials threatened that they would receive nothing. Although Chinese officials have advocated a policy of openness in time before the Olympic Games, the pressure on parents to sign demonstrates that officials are determined to create a facade of public harmony rather than investigate into the corruption or negligence of the construction of schools. The payment amounts vary by school but are roughly the same. In [[Hanwang]], parents were offered a package valued at 8,800 USD in cash and a per-parent pension of nearly 5,600 USD. Many parents said they signed the contract, even if they were still upset at the terms and angry at the lack of any real investigation. Furthermore, officials have used traditional methods of silencing: riot police officers have broken up protests by parents; the authorities have set up cordons around the schools; and officials have ordered the Chinese news media to stop reporting on school collapses.<ref>Wong, Edward, "China Presses Hush Money on Grieving Parents," [[New York Times]], July 24, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/world/asia/24quake.html</ref>
When the Supreme Court was established in 1789, the first members came from among the ranks of the [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]] and were almost uniformly Protestant. Of the 110 Justices who have been appointed to the court, 91 have been from various Protestant denominations, 11 have been Catholics (one other Justice, [[Sherman Minton]], converted to Catholicism after leaving the Court) and seven have been Jewish. Three of the 17 Chief Justices have been Catholics, and one Jewish Justice, [[Abe Fortas]], was unsuccessfully nominated to be Chief Justice.


On June 12, a BBC journalist was briefly detained in [[Dujiangyan City|Dujiangyan]] due to "danger of further aftershocks," and was advised to vacate the city.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/jamesreynolds/2008/06/shutting_us_out.html "Shutting us out?"], [[James Reynolds (correspondent)|James Reynolds]] writing on the ''[[BBC News Online|BBC Blog Network]]'', June 13, 2008</ref> On June 17, a [[Hong-Kong]]-based human rights group reported that a retired professor, Zeng Hongling, was detained for "subversion" after publishing a critical essay titled ""My Personal Experience in the Earthquake."<ref>[http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-34113520080618 "China detains quake school critic - rights group"], ''[[Reuters]]'', June 17, 2008</ref> Chinese human right activist [[Huang Qi]] was also detained.<ref>[http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-lasting17-2008jun17,0,6989554.story "A new China appears amid quake rubble"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', June 17, 2008</ref>
A number of sizable religious groups have had no Justices appointed from their group. These include [[Mormon]]s, [[Pentecostal]]s, [[Muslim]]s, [[Buddhist]]s and members of the [[Eastern Orthodox]] church. Nor has an avowed [[atheist]] or [[agnostic]] ever been appointed to the Court, although some Justices have been noted as declining to engage in any manner of religious activity.
On June 20, two foreign journalists were detained for "working behind police cordons" at the site of a protest by parents in the town of Wufu.<ref>[http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gBr_dOzJ9Pnc_U9gSgtTgE-cR-KwD91DORTO0 "Parents wait for answers on quake school"], ''[[Associated Press]]'' via ''[[Google]]'', June 20, 2008</ref>


==Scope==
===Protestant Justices===
{{main|2008 Sichuan earthquake#Casualties|l1=Casualties in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake}}
Most Supreme Court Justices have been from various Protestant denominations, and these have included 33 [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopalians]], 18 [[Presbyterian]]s, nine [[Unitarian]]s, five [[Methodist]]s, three [[Baptist]]s, and lone representatives of various other denominations.<ref>[http://www.adherents.com/adh_sc.html Adherents.com page on the Supreme Court].</ref> [[William Rehnquist]] was the Court's only [[Lutheran]]; [[Noah Haynes Swayne|Noah Swayne]] was a [[Religious Society of Friends|Quaker]]. Some 15 Protestant Justices did not adhere to a particular denomination, and at least one, [[David Davis (senator)|David Davis]], was not a member of any church. Notably, the [[Baptist]] church and other [[evangelicalism|evangelical]] churches have been underrepresented on the Court, relative to the population of the United States. So-called mainline Protestant churches have been overrepresented.


Over 7,000 schoolrooms collapsed in the course of the quake, mostly in rural areas,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7400524.stm "China anger over 'shoddy schools' "], ''[[BBC News Online]]'', May 15, 2008</ref> leading to the death of nearly 5,000 students (though some parents believe the real figure is twice that officially cited<ref name="gm"/>) and the injury of over 15,000 students.<ref name="gm"/> The total death toll has approached 70,000 people, with 375,000 injuries. A month after the quake, nearly 20,000 still remain missing, while five million were rendered homeless.<ref>[http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gBr_dOzJ9Pnc_U9gSgtTgE-cR-KwD918N6TO7 "Parents of China quake victims express anger"], ''[[Associated Press]]'' via ''[[Google]]'', June 12, 2008</ref>
===Roman Catholic Justices===
[[Image:Roger Taney.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Roger B. Taney]], the first Roman Catholic Justice.]]
The first Roman Catholic Justice, [[Roger B. Taney]], was appointed Chief Justice in 1836 by [[Andrew Jackson]]. The second, [[Edward Douglass White]], was appointed as an Associate Justice in 1894, but also went on to become Chief Justice. [[Joseph McKenna]] was appointed in 1898, placing two Catholics on the Court until White's death in 1921.


==Awaited inquiry==
Other Catholic Justices included [[Pierce Butler (justice)|Pierce Butler]] (appointed 1923) and [[Frank Murphy]] (appointed 1940). Some accounts note that [[Sherman Minton]], appointed in 1949, was also a Catholic, but he did not join the Catholic faith until 1961 - having already retired from the court in 1956.<ref>[http://www.adherents.com/people/pm/Sherman_Minton.html Adherents.com page on Sherman Minton].</ref> Minton was succeeded by a Catholic, however, when President [[Dwight Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] appointed William J. Brennan to that seat. In fact, Eisenhower intently sought to appoint a Catholic to the Court - in part because there had been no Catholic Justice since Murphy's death in 1949, and in part because Eisenhower was directly lobbied by [[Francis Spellman|Cardinal Francis Spellman]] of the [[Archdiocese of New York]] to make such an appointment.<ref>Jeffrey A. Segal, Harold J. Spaeth, ''The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited'' (2002) p. 184.</ref> Brennan was then the lone Catholic Justice until the appointment of Antonin Scalia in 1986, and [[Anthony Kennedy]] in 1988.
Although the central government was initially praised<sup>(</sup><ref>[http://www.america.gov/st/freepress-english/2008/May/20080520153034esnamfuak0.7039911.html "China's government praised for easing media restrictions"], ''[[Bureau of International Information Programs]]'', May 20, 2008</ref><ref>[http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/features/article_1406280.php/Mourning_rallies_Chinese_behind_quake_relief "Mourning rallies Chinese behind quake relief"], ''[[Deutsche Presse-Agentur]]'' via ''[[Monsters and Critics]]'', May 19, 2008</ref><sup>)</sup> for its response to the quake (especially in comparison to [[Cyclone Nargis#Military junta.27s blockade of aid|Myanmar's ruling military junta's blockade of aid]] during [[Cyclone Nargis]]), it has seen an erosion in confidence over the school construction scandal.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/18/china.quake.school/ "In Chinese town, quake shakes faith in school construction"], ''[[Cable News Network]]'', May 18, 2008</ref><ref>[http://www.torontosun.com/News/World/2008/06/05/5776976-sun.html "School quake scandal: Bereaved parents accuse China government of allowing shoddy construction"], ''[[Toronto Sun]]'', June 5, 2008</ref>


On May 23, the government promised an [[inquiry]] into the matter.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2008/s2253989.htm "Chinese govt promises inquiry into shoddy construction"], ''[[BBC World News (programme)|The World Today]]'' via ''[[abc.net.au]]'', May 23 ,2008</ref> On June 16, the ''[[Legal Daily]]'' announced that prosecutors were beginning a probe, possibly to be led by anti-corruption investigator, Hu Hong, which, in part, will investigate the collapse of ten schools in [[Shifang]].<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/06/16/asia/OUKWD-UK-CHINA-QUAKE.php "China prosecutors join quake school collapse probe"], ''[[Reuters]]'' via ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'', June 16, 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EGUA-7FPMCD?OpenDocument "UNICEF external situation report China earthquake"], ''[[UNICEF]]'' via ''[[ReliefWeb]]'', June 17, 2008</ref> In the official press conference on September 4, MA Zongjin indicated that "We are still carefully thinking about and investigating this matter."<ref>
Like Sherman Minton, Clarence Thomas was not a Catholic at the time he was appointed to the Court. Thomas was raised Catholic and briefly attended [[Conception Seminary College]], a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[seminary]],<ref>[http://www.conceptionabbey.org/TowerTopics/TTWinter2001/CThomas.htm Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visits Conception Seminary College], Winter 2001.</ref>, but had joined the Protestant denomination of his wife after their marriage. At some point in the late 1990s, Thomas returned to Catholicism. In 2005, [[John Roberts]] became the third Catholic Chief Justice and the fourth Catholic currently on the Court. Shortly thereafter, [[Samuel Alito]] became the fifth on the Court, and the eleventh in the history of the Court. Besides Thomas, at least one other Justice, [[James F. Byrnes]], was raised as a Roman Catholic, but converted to a different branch of Christianity prior to serving on the Court.
{{ cite news
| url=http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2008-09-04/105416231615.shtml
| title=MA Zongjin: Responsibility of school collapses in Wenchuan earthquake still under investigation (马宗晋：汶川地震倒塌校舍责任问题仍在调查)
| publisher=[[Information Office of the State Council|State Council State Council Information Office]] via SINA.com
| date=2008-09-04
| accessdate=2008-09-30
| language=Chinese
}}
{{zh-s|s=我们还在仔细地思考和调查这个问题。}}
</ref>


==Notes and References==
===Jewish Justices===
{{reflist}}
[[Image:Brandeisl.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Louis Brandeis]], the first Jewish Justice.]]
In 1853, President [[Millard Fillmore]] offered to appoint [[Louisiana]] Senator [[Judah P. Benjamin]] to be the first Jewish Justice, and the ''[[New York Times]]'' reported (on February 15, 1853) that "if the President nominates Benjamin, the Democrats are determined to confirm him". However, Benjamin declined the offer, and ultimately became an officer in the Confederacy during the [[United States Civil War|Civil War]]. The first [[Jewish]] nominee, [[Louis Brandeis]], was appointed in 1916, after a tumultuous hearing process. The 1932 appointment of [[Benjamin N. Cardozo|Benjamin Cardozo]] raised mild controversy for placing two Jewish Justices on the Court at the same time, although the appointment was widely lauded based on Cardozo's qualifications.


[[Category:2008 Sichuan earthquake]]
Brandeis was succeeded by Protestant [[William O. Douglas]], but Cardozo was succeeded by another Jewish Justice, [[Felix Frankfurter]]. Frankfurter was followed by [[Arthur Goldberg]] and [[Abe Fortas]], each of whom filled what became known as the "Jewish Seat". After Fortas resigned in 1969, he was replaced by Protestant [[Harry Blackmun]]. No Jewish Justices were nominated thereafter until Ronald Reagan nominated [[Douglas H. Ginsburg]] in 1987, to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of [[Lewis F. Powell]]; however, this nomination was withdrawn, and the Court remained without any Jewish Justices until 1993, when [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]] (unrelated to Douglas Ginsburg) was appointed to replace [[Byron White]]. Ginsburg was followed in relatively quick succession by the appointment of [[Stephen Breyer]] in 1994 to replace [[Harry Blackmun]].
[[Category:2008 in China]]

Negative reaction to the appointment of the early Jewish Justices did not exclusively come from outside the Court. Justice [[James Clark McReynolds]], a blatant [[anti-semite]], refused to speak to Brandeis for three years following the latter's appointment and when Brandeis retired in 1939, did not sign the customary dedicatory letter sent to Court members on their retirement. During [[Benjamin N. Cardozo|Benjamin Cardozo's]] swearing in ceremony McReynolds pointedly read a newspaper muttering "another one" and did not attend that of [[Felix Frankfurter]], exclaiming "My God, another Jew on the Court!"<ref>Henry Julian Abraham, ''Justices, Presidents, and Senators: A History of the U.S. Supreme Court Appointments from Washington to Bush II'' (2008), p. 140.</ref>

===The Court arrives at a non-Protestant majority===
At the time of Breyer's appointment in 1994, there were two [[Roman Catholic]] Justices, Antonin Scalia and [[Anthony Kennedy]], and two Jewish Justices, Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. When [[Clarence Thomas]], who had been raised as a Roman Catholic but had attended an [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal]] church after his marriage, returned to Catholicism later in the 1990s, Protestant Justices remained a [[plurality]] on the Court, but were no longer a majority.

===The Court arrives at a Catholic majority===
In 2005, Chief Justice [[John Roberts]] became the fourth sitting Catholic Justice, creating the first Catholic [[plurality]] on the Court. On January 31, 2006, Samuel Alito became the fifth sitting Catholic Justice.

Catholic Justices now constitute 56% (5 of 9) of the Supreme Court; about 25% of Americans are Catholic. Jewish Justices constitute 22% (2 of 9) of the Court; about 2% of Americans are Jewish. The sole [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal]] Justice represents 11% (1 of 9) of the Court; about 2% of Americans are Episcopalians. The sole Protestant Justice declining to specify a denomination represents 11% (1 of 9) of the Court; about 3% of Americans are Protestants who decline to specify a denomination. Grouping all Protestant denominations together, including Episcopalians, Protestant Justices constitute 22% (2 of 9) of the Court; 52% of Americans are Protestants, overall.

As of August 2008, the last two [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]-nominated Justices were Jewish, and five of the last six [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]-nominated Justices either were Catholics or have since become Catholic.

In contrast, there has been only one Catholic U.S. President, Democrat [[John F. Kennedy]] (unrelated to Justice Kennedy), and there has never been a Jewish president.

==Age==
[[Image:Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr circa 1930.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.]] served on the Court until he was 90, making him the oldest Justice in history.]]
Unlike other offices set forth in the [[Constitution of the United States]], there is no minimum age for Supreme Court Justices - perhaps because the framers expected that the President (through the power to nominate) and the Senate (through the power to approve nominations) would effectively check the appointment of insufficiently experienced nominees. Indeed, Justices tend to be appointed after having made significant achievements in law or politics, which excludes many young judges from consideration. At the same time, Justices appointed at too advanced an age will likely have short tenures on the Court. The youngest Justice ever appointed was [[Joseph Story]], 32 at the time of his appointment in 1812; the oldest was [[Horace Lurton]], 65 at the time of his appointment in 1909. Story went on to serve for 33 years, while Lurton served only 4.

The youngest Justice appointed in recent memory was Clarence Thomas, 43 years old at the time of his appointment. However, the youngest Justice currently sitting is Chief Justice Roberts, who turned 53 in January 2008. The oldest current Justice, [[John Paul Stevens]], turned 88 in April 2008. The oldest person to have served on the Court was [[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.]], who stepped down after turning 90.

The average age of the Court as a whole fluctuates over time with the departure of older Justices and the appointment of younger people to fill their seats. For the current Court, this age is 68 (as of June, 2008); just prior to the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist, the average age was 71.

The group of justices that served together between 1994 and 2005 did so for a longer period than any other group of nine justices in American history. From 1789 until 1970, justices served an average of 14.9 years. Those who have stepped down since 1970 have served an average of 25.6 years. The retirement age had jumped from an average of 68 pre-1970 to 79 for justices retiring post-1970. Between 1789 and 1970 there was a vacancy on the Court once every 1.91 years. In the next 34 years since the two appointments in 1971, there was a vacancy on average only once every 3.75 years. The typical one-term president has had one appointment opportunity instead of two.<ref>[[Steven G. Calabresi]] and [[James Lindgren]], [http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110006539 Justice for Life? The case for Supreme Court term limits.], ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'', [April 10], [2005].</ref>

Commentators have noted that advances in medical knowledge "have enormously increased the life expectancy of a mature person of an age likely to be considered for appointment to the Supreme Court".<ref>Roger C. Cramton and Paul D. Carrington, eds., ''Reforming the Court: Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices'' (Carolina Academic Press, 2006), p. 4.</ref> Combined with the reduction in responsibilities carried out by modern Justices as compared to the early Justices, this results in much longer potential terms of service.<ref>Roger C. Cramton and Paul D. Carrington, eds., ''Reforming the Court: Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices'' (Carolina Academic Press, 2006), p. 4.</ref> This has led to proposals such as imposition a mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court Justices,<ref>[[Richard Epstein]], "Mandatory Retirement for Supreme Court Justices", in Roger C. Cramton and Paul D. Carrington, eds., ''Reforming the Court: Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices'' (Carolina Academic Press, 2006), p. 415.</ref> and predetermined term limits.<ref>[[Arthur D. Hellman]], "Reining in the Supreme Court: Are Term Limits the Answer?", in Roger C. Cramton and Paul D. Carrington, eds., ''Reforming the Court: Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices'' (Carolina Academic Press, 2006), p. 291.</ref>

==Geographic background==
For most of the existence of the Court, geographic diversity has been a key concern of presidents in choosing Justices to appoint.<ref>David M. O'Brien, ''Storm Center'', Sixth ed. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2003), p. 46.</ref> This was prompted in part by the early practice of Supreme Court Justices also "riding circuit" - individually hearing cases in different regions of the country. In 1789, the United States was divided into judicial circuits, and from that time until 1891, Supreme Court Justices also acted as judges within those individual circuits.<ref>Jeffrey A. Segal, Harold J. Spaeth, ''The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited'' (2002) p. 182.</ref> [[George Washington]] was careful to make appointments "with no two justices serving at the same time hailing from the same state".<ref>Thomas R. Marshall, ''Public Opinion and the Rehnquist Court'' (2008), p. 108.</ref> [[Abraham Lincoln]] broke with this tradition during the [[United States Civil War|Civil War]],<ref>Jeffrey A. Segal, Harold J. Spaeth, ''The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited'' (2002) p. 182.</ref> and "by the late 1880s presidents disregarded it with increasing frequency".<ref>Jeffrey A. Segal, Harold J. Spaeth, ''The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited'' (2002) p. 182, quoting Richard Friedman, "The Transformation in Senate Response to Supreme Court Nominations", 5 Cardozo Law Review 1 (1983), p. 50.</ref>

Although the importance of regionalism declined, it still arose from time to time. For example, in appointing Cardozo, President Hoover was as concerned about the controversy over having three [[New York]] Justices on the Court as he was about having two Jewish Justices.<ref>Jeffrey A. Segal, Harold J. Spaeth, ''The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited'' (2002) p. 182-83.</ref> David M. O'Brien notes that "[f]rom the appointment of [[John Rutledge]] from [[South Carolina]] in 1789 until the retirement of [[Hugo Black]] [from [[Alabama]]] in 1971, with the exception of the [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]] decade of 1866-1876, there was always a southerner on the bench. Until 1867, the sixth seat was reserved as the 'southern seat'. Until Cardozo's appointment in 1932, the third seat was reserved for [[New England]]ers."<ref>David M. O'Brien, ''Storm Center'', Sixth ed. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2003), p. 46-47.</ref> The westward expansion of the U.S. led to concerns that the western states should be represented on the Court as well, which purportedly prompted [[William Howard Taft]] to make his 1910 appointment of [[Willis Van Devanter]] of [[Wyoming]].<ref>David M. O'Brien, ''Storm Center'', Sixth ed. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2003), p. 47.</ref>

[[Image:DJBrewer.jpg||thumb|left|200px|[[David Josiah Brewer]] was born to [[missionary]] parents in [[Smyrna]], [[Asia Minor]], (now [[İzmir]], [[Turkey]]).]]
However, geographic balance has not been raised as a concern since the 1970s, when [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] attempted to employ a "Southern strategy", hoping to secure support from Southern states by nominating judges from the region.<ref>Jeffrey A. Segal, Harold J. Spaeth, ''The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited'' (2002) p. 183.</ref> Nixon unsuccessfully nominated Southerners [[Clement Haynsworth]] of [[South Carolina]] and [[G. Harrold Carswell]] of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], before finally succeeding with the nomination of [[Harry Blackmun]] of [[Minnesota]].<ref>David M. O'Brien, ''Storm Center'', Sixth ed. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2003), p. 48.</ref>

The current court has a majority from the Northeastern United States, with six Justices coming from states to the north and east of [[Washington, D.C.]]. The remaining three Justices come from Illinois, California, and Georgia. There is some dispute, however, in determining which state a Justice may be from. Because many nominees are appointed Judges who live in districts other than their hometown or home state, geographic diversity has become harder to calculate. Chief Justice John Roberts, for example, was born in [[New York]], but moved to [[Indiana]] at the age of five, where he grew up. After law school, Roberts worked in [[Washington D.C.]] while living in [[Maryland]]. Thus, three states may claim that he is a Justice "from" that state.

Despite the efforts to achieve geographic balance, nineteen states have never produced a Supreme Court Justice. Some states have been over-represented (although partly because there were fewer states from which early Justices could be appointed), with New York producing thirteen Justices, [[Ohio]] producing ten, [[Massachusetts]] nine, [[Virginia]] eight, six each from [[Pennsylvania]] and [[Tennessee]], and five from [[Kentucky]], [[Maryland]], and [[New Jersey]].<ref>David M. O'Brien, ''Storm Center'', Sixth ed. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2003), p. 48.</ref> A handful of Justices were born outside the United States, mostly from among the earliest Justices on the Court. These included [[James Wilson]], born in [[Fife]], Scotland; [[James Iredell]], born in [[Lewes]], England; and [[William Paterson (jurist)|William Paterson]], born in [[County Antrim]], Ireland. Justice [[David Josiah Brewer]] was born farthest from the U.S., in [[Smyrna]], [[Asia Minor]], (now [[İzmir]], [[Turkey]]). [[George Sutherland]] was born in [[Buckinghamshire]], England. The last foreign-born Justice was Felix Frankfurter, born in [[Vienna]], [[Austria]]. It should be noted that the Constitution imposes no [[United States nationality law|citizenship]] requirement on federal judges.

==Educational and professional background==

[[Image:Stanley Reed.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Stanley F. Reed]] was the last sitting Justice not to have received a law degree.]]
The Constitution does not require that federal judges have any particular educational background. However, the majority of the Court's work is not momentous consideration of Constitutional provisions, but rather, unglamorous and dry legal arcana, interpreting minutiae of [[ERISA]], [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations|RICO]] and so on. Consequentially, a legal education has become an unofficial prerequisite to appointment on the Supreme Court. As of 2008, every person who has been nominated to the Court has been an attorney,<ref>Jeffrey A. Segal, Harold J. Spaeth, ''The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited'' (2002) p. 182.</ref> and nearly two thirds of nominees had previously been judges.<ref>Jeffrey A. Segal, Harold J. Spaeth, ''The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited'' (2002) p. 182.</ref>

Many of the early Justices were appointed before the advent of modern [[law school]]s, and rather than attend a formal program, they "read law" - that is, their legal studies took the form of [[apprenticeship]]s with more experienced attorneys. The first Justice to be appointed who had attended an actual law school was [[Levi Woodbury]], appointed to the Court in 1846. Woodbury had attended [[Litchfield Law School|Tapping Reeve Law School]] in [[Litchfield, Connecticut|Litchfield]], [[Connecticut]], the most prestigious law school in the United States in that day, prior to his admission to the bar in 1812. However, Woodbury did not earn a [[Juris Doctor|law degree]]; Woodbury's successor on the Court, [[Benjamin Robbins Curtis|Benjamin Curtis]], who received his law degree from [[Harvard Law School]] in 1832, and was appointed to the Court in 1851, was the first Justice to bear such a credential.<ref>Henry Julian Abraham, ''Justices, Presidents, and Senators: A History of the U.S. Supreme Court Appointments from Washington to Bush II'' (2008), p. 49.</ref>

[[Image:Austin Hall, Harvard University.JPG|thumb|right|250px|[[Harvard Law School]] has produced fourteen Supreme Court Justices, more than any other educational institution.]]
Associate Justice [[James F. Byrnes]], whose short tenure lasted from June 1941 to October 1942, was the last Justice without a law degree to be appointed; however [[Stanley F. Reed]], who served on the Court from 1938 to 1957, was the last sitting Justice from such a background. In total, of the 110 Justices appointed to the Court, 45 have had law degrees, an additional 18 attended law school, and 47 received their legal education without any law school attendance.<ref>Henry Julian Abraham, ''Justices, Presidents, and Senators: A History of the U.S. Supreme Court Appointments from Washington to Bush II'' (2008), p. 49.</ref>

The table below shows which [[college]] and [[law school]] each of the current Justices graduated from:

{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Appt. by
!College
!Law school
|-
|'''[[John Roberts]]''' ([[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]])
|[[George W. Bush|G.W.&nbsp;Bush]]
|[[Harvard College|Harvard]]
|[[Harvard Law School|Harvard]]
|-
|'''[[John Paul Stevens]]'''
|[[Gerald Ford|Ford]]
|[[University of Chicago|Chicago]]
|[[Northwestern University|Northwestern]]
|-
|'''[[Antonin Scalia]]'''
|[[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]]
|[[Georgetown University|Georgetown]]
|[[Harvard Law School|Harvard]]
|-
|'''[[Anthony Kennedy]]'''
|[[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]]
|[[Stanford University|Stanford]]
|[[Harvard Law School|Harvard]]
|-
|'''[[David Souter]]'''
|[[George H. W. Bush|G.H.W. Bush]]
|[[Harvard College|Harvard]]
|[[Harvard Law School|Harvard]]
|-
|'''[[Clarence Thomas]]'''
|[[George H. W. Bush|G.H.W. Bush]]
|[[College of the Holy Cross|Holy Cross]]
|[[Yale Law School|Yale]]
|-
|'''[[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]]'''
|[[Bill Clinton|Clinton]]
|[[Cornell University|Cornell]]
|[[Columbia Law School|Columbia]]
|-
|'''[[Stephen Breyer]]'''
|[[Bill Clinton|Clinton]]
|[[Stanford University|Stanford]]
|[[Harvard Law School|Harvard]]
|-
|'''[[Samuel Alito]]'''
|[[George W. Bush|G.W.&nbsp;Bush]]
|[[Princeton University|Princeton]]
|[[Yale Law School|Yale]]
|}

==Economic background==
The economic profile of the typical Supreme Court Justice has been described as "upper-middle to high social status: reared in nonrural but not necessarily urban environment, member of a civic-minded, politically active, economically comfortable family".<ref>Henry Julian Abraham, ''Justices, Presidents, and Senators: A History of the U.S. Supreme Court Appointments from Washington to Bush II'' (2008), p. 49.</ref> [[Charles Beard]], in his ''[[An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States]]'', profiled those among the Justices who were also drafters of the Constitution. [[James Wilson]], Beard notes, "developed a lucrative practice at [[Carlisle, Pennsylvania|Carlisle]]" before becoming "one of the directors of the Bank of North America on its incorporation in 1871".<ref>[[Charles Beard]], ''[[An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States]]'' (1913), p. 147.</ref> A member of the [[Georgia Land Company]], Wilson "held shares to the amount of at least one million acres".<ref>[[Charles Beard]], ''[[An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States]]'' (1913), p. 148.</ref> [[John Blair]] was "one of the most respectable men in Virginia, both on account of his Family as well as fortune".<ref>[[Charles Beard]], ''[[An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States]]'' (1913), p. 77.</ref> Another source notes that Blair "was a member of a prominent Virginia family. His father served on the Virginia Council and was for a time acting Royal governor. His grand-uncle, James Blair, was founder and first president of the College of William and Mary.".<ref>[http://www.history.army.mil/books/RevWar/ss/blair.htm U.S. Army Center of Military History page on John Blair].</ref> [[John Rutledge]] was elected Governor of South Carolina at a time when the Constitution of that state set, as a qualification for the office, ownership of "a settled plantation or freehold ... of the value of at least ten thousand pounds currency, clear of debt".<ref>[[Charles Beard]], ''[[An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States]]'' (1913), p. 142.</ref> [[Oliver Ellsworth]] "rose rapidly to wealth and power in the bar of his native state" with "earnings... unrivalled in his own day and unexampled in the history of the colony", developing "a fortune which for the times and the country was quite uncommonly large".<ref>[[Charles Beard]], ''[[An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States]]'' (1913), p. 89.</ref>

It has been noted that "[a]bout three-fifths of those named to the Supreme Court personally knew the President who nominated them".<ref>Jeffrey A. Segal, Harold J. Spaeth, ''The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited'' (2002) p. 184.</ref> In 2008, seven of the nine sitting Justices were millionaires, and the remaining two were close to that level of wealth.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/06/scotus.finances/index.html?section=cnn_latest Justices are well-off, well-traveled], ''[[CNN]]'', June 4, 2008.</ref> Historian [[Howard Zinn]], in his 1980 book ''[[A People's History of the United States]]'', argues that the Justices cannot be neutral between the rich and the poor, as they are almost always from the upper class.<ref>[[Howard Zinn]], ''[[A People's History of the United States]]'' (New York: Perennial, 2003), p.260-261 ISBN 0060528370.</ref>

Zinn's characterization is less applicable to the current Court. Chief Justice Roberts is the son of an executive with [[Bethlehem Steel]]; Justice Stevens was born into a wealthy Chicago family;<ref>[[Jeffrey Rosen]], [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/magazine/23stevens-t.html "The Dissenter,"] ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'' (September 23, 2007).</ref> and Justices Kennedy and Breyer both had fathers who were successful attorneys. Justices Scalia and Alito, on the other hand, both had parents who were teachers (Scalia's at the collegiate level, Alito's at the high school level), although Alito's father was also "a long-time employee of the New Jersey state legislature".<ref>[http://www.oyez.org/justices/samuel_a_alito_jr/ Oyez Biography of Samuel A. Alito, Jr.].</ref> Only Justice Thomas has been claimed as coming from a lower-class background. One authority states that "Thomas grew up in poverty. The Pin Point community he lived in lacked a sewage system and paved roads. Its inhabitants dwelled in destitution and earned but a few cents each day performing manual labor".<ref>[http://www.oyez.org/justices/clarence_thomas/ Oyez Biography of Clarence Thomas].</ref> The depth of Thomas' poverty has been disputed by suggestions of "ample evidence to suggest that Thomas enjoyed, by and large, a middle-class upbringing".<ref>Christopher Alan Bracey, ''Saviors Or Sellouts: The Promise and Peril of Black Conservatism'' (2008), p. 152 (stating of Thomas: "He is a man who claims to have risen from boyhood poverty, but there is ample evidence to suggest that Thomas enjoyed, by and large, a middle-class upbringing").</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
*[http://www.adherents.com/adh_sc.html Adherents.com page on the Supreme Court].
*[[David M. O'Brien]], ''Storm Center'', Sixth ed. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2003). ISBN 0-393-97896-6
*[[Jeffrey A. Segal]], [[Harold J. Spaeth]], ''The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited'' (2002). ISBN 0-521-78971-0
*[[Henry Julian Abraham]], ''Justices, Presidents, and Senators: A History of the U.S. Supreme Court Appointments from Washington to Bush II'' (2007). ISBN 0-742-55895-9

==External links==
*[http://www.adherents.com/adh_sc.html Religious Affiliation of the U.S. Supreme Court from Adherents.com]
*[http://chrome.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/histBio.html Cornell Law School site on the Justices, noting the educational background of each through Stephen Breyer]

[[Category:Supreme Court of the United States]]

[[es:Demografía de la Corte Suprema de los Estados Unidos]]

Revision as of 20:06, 10 October 2008

The extent of the earthquake
See also: Collapse of schools in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake

Sichuan schools corruption scandal arose following the high number of collapsed school structures during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, in the People's Republic of China. Despite attempts by the Chinese government to downplay or even suppress[1] the criticism, which emanated especially from grieving parents,[2] the scandal continued to gain momentum throughout May and June of 2008.

Claims of corruption

The grieving parents and critical journalists pointed out that "hundreds of schools collapsed instantly — even newly constructed ones — while older buildings nearby were often unscathed."[3] This, in turn, has led to allegations of corruption on the part of Education Ministry officials and contractors who were said to be complicit in constructing the school buildings dangerously below government-mandated standards, while pocketing the remaining surplus.[3] On May 26, Wang Xuming, a spokesman for the Education Ministry, stated that the ministry would complete a reassessment of school buildings in quake zones and that those who had cut corners on school construction would be “severely punished.”[4] Some parents protested what they argued, one month after the event, amounts to government inaction.[5]

Factors in building collapse

The earthquake has caused collapse of more than 6.5 million buildings and damages to 23 million more. Four factors determine the damage to a particular building, according to geologist LIU Jie (Chinese: 刘杰; pinyin: Líu Jié), Director of Earthquake Prediction Department of (China's) Center for Seismic Monitoring Station Network under the China Earthquake Administration (CEA), who arrived in quake zone the same day of the main quake. Besides the quake's magnitude and intensity in the area, location of the building plays an important role. In some towns Liu surveyed, all buildings sitting on the earthquake fault line collapsed, while buildings tens of meters away did not. A building's structure also plays a role. Buildings with larger spans tend to collapse more easily. The fourth factor is the quality of the building. If a building's designed fortification intensity is above the quake's intensity at the location, the collapse of a building can be definitively attributed to its engineering quality, Liu explained. On the other hand, if the quake's intensity exceeds the designated code, it would be hard to determine whether the engineering quality is the deciding factor of its collapse.[6]

Modes of building collapse

Despite these factors, some civil engineers in China expressed a different view and joined the public in criticizing the initial official attribution of school collapses. According to a news network Finance and Economics based in Beijing, China, "they pointed out that earthquake (intensity) exceeding the designed resistance does not mean that buildings built to quality specifications will definitely collapse. Even when they collapse, there exist different modes of collapses; (building collapses) do not necessarily lead to such heavy human casualties."[7]

Collapse of a building may be brittle or ductile. If a building is built to seismic design specifications, according to a Chinese civil engineer's blog, it will bend and deform yet not collapse immediately, allowing time for people inside to escape. This did not seems to be the case in Wenchuan, where large number of buildings collapsed momentarily.

Additionally, civil engineers generally understand the intensity code in seismic design signifies the minimum resistance to earthquakes.

Buildings strictly built to the specifications of civil planning would not collapse during an earthquake. Any building that collapsed instantaneously must not have conformed to civil planning. Either the design was unfit, or the engineering was unfit.[8]

— LIANG Wei (Chinese: 梁伟; pinyin: Liáng Wěi), Executive Vice President of the Urban Planning Design and Research Institute of Tsinghua University

Seismic fortification for schools in the quake zone

Post-quake survey indicated the intensity near the epicenter of the earthquake to be XI liedu,[9] far exceeding the seismic fortification intensity of VII liedu assigned to Wenchuan, Sichuan in GB 500011-2001, a national standard for seismic design published in 2001.[10] Beichuan, center of the other XI-liedu area, had been zoned for VI liedu. (Zoning for Wenchuan, Beichuan and several other cities in Sichuan were subsequently revised to VIII liedu, the second highest rating in the standard.[11])

GB50223-2004, the national standard for classification of civil siesmic fortification before the earthquake, specified Class B for schools exceeding 600 in capacity, kindergartens and child care centers exceeding 200, meaning they must be built to at least 1 liedu higher than the zoned seismic fortification intensity of the area. However, it contained a provision to allow low-rise (3 stories and lower) schools to be built to meet the area's fortification intensity (Class C).[12] (The government rushed a revision to the standard after the Wenchuan earthquake. GB 50223-2008 has removed both the provision regarding capacity and the one regarding height to require all schools to meet Class B.[13])

In perspective, Yingxiu Primary School had a collapsed 4-story building built in 1999, where 3/4 of the 473 students were dead,[14] whereas Xuankou Middle School had several collapsed buildings from 3 to 4 stories built in 2006, where more than 80% of the 1,200+ students stayed alive.[15] Both schools are located in the town of Yingxiu, Wenchuan nearly at the epicenter of the main quake. Beichuan Middle School in Beichuan where 80% of buildings collapsed had two collapsed 5-story buildings completed in 1998 that were once named "high quality buildings," killing nearly half of its 2,000+ students.[16][17] Following GB50223-2004, Xuankou Middle School should have been built to resist VII + I liedu in seismic intensity. Beichuan Middle School and Yingxiu Primary School could have passed with fortification intensity of VII liedu had they been built after 2004; but because they were built before the publication of even GB 500011-2001, they could be using older standards or none at all.[18]

Attempt to interfere with survey

In justifying the relatively long time CEA used to produce the intensity diagram of the Wenchuan earthquake, Vice President of International Association for Earthquake Engineering XIE Lili (Chinese: 谢礼立; pinyin: Xiè Lǐlì) who was a member of the survey team indicated that "some (local government) may want to make more serious estimations of earthquake damage, so they could obtain more compensation,"[19] hinting attempts to interfere with the survey. The same news article quoted persons in the know who suggested that another motivation for attempted interference would be to boost intensity in order to evade responsibility for not following seismic design codes. Despite later denial by CEA that the published intensity reflected such interference, MA Zongjin (Chinese: 马宗晋; pinyin: Mǎ Zōngjìn), Chairman of the National Expert Committee for Wenchuan Earthquake who is also the Chairman of the National Expert Committee for Disaster Prevention, openly confirmed that "some local workers wanted to increase (report of) local damages or seismic intensity"[20] in a press conference sponsored by the State Council State Council Information Office of the PRC.

Suppression of dissent

In July 2008, Local governments in southwest China’s quake-ravaged Sichuan Province began a coordinated campaign to hush up angry parents whose children died during the earthquake through monetary contracts. If the parents refused, officials threatened that they would receive nothing. Although Chinese officials have advocated a policy of openness in time before the Olympic Games, the pressure on parents to sign demonstrates that officials are determined to create a facade of public harmony rather than investigate into the corruption or negligence of the construction of schools. The payment amounts vary by school but are roughly the same. In Hanwang, parents were offered a package valued at 8,800 USD in cash and a per-parent pension of nearly 5,600 USD. Many parents said they signed the contract, even if they were still upset at the terms and angry at the lack of any real investigation. Furthermore, officials have used traditional methods of silencing: riot police officers have broken up protests by parents; the authorities have set up cordons around the schools; and officials have ordered the Chinese news media to stop reporting on school collapses.[21]

On June 12, a BBC journalist was briefly detained in Dujiangyan due to "danger of further aftershocks," and was advised to vacate the city.[22] On June 17, a Hong-Kong-based human rights group reported that a retired professor, Zeng Hongling, was detained for "subversion" after publishing a critical essay titled ""My Personal Experience in the Earthquake."[23] Chinese human right activist Huang Qi was also detained.[24] On June 20, two foreign journalists were detained for "working behind police cordons" at the site of a protest by parents in the town of Wufu.[25]

Scope

Main article: Casualties in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake

Over 7,000 schoolrooms collapsed in the course of the quake, mostly in rural areas,[26] leading to the death of nearly 5,000 students (though some parents believe the real figure is twice that officially cited[3]) and the injury of over 15,000 students.[3] The total death toll has approached 70,000 people, with 375,000 injuries. A month after the quake, nearly 20,000 still remain missing, while five million were rendered homeless.[27]

Awaited inquiry

Although the central government was initially praised([28][29]) for its response to the quake (especially in comparison to Myanmar's ruling military junta's blockade of aid during Cyclone Nargis), it has seen an erosion in confidence over the school construction scandal.[30][31]

On May 23, the government promised an inquiry into the matter.[32] On June 16, the Legal Daily announced that prosecutors were beginning a probe, possibly to be led by anti-corruption investigator, Hu Hong, which, in part, will investigate the collapse of ten schools in Shifang.[33][34] In the official press conference on September 4, MA Zongjin indicated that "We are still carefully thinking about and investigating this matter."[35]

Notes and References

  1. ^ "Police break up protest by parents of China earthquake victims", The Guardian, June 3, 2008
  2. ^ "Parents' anger still rising over schools' quake collapse", Associated Press via The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 13, 2008
  3. ^ a b c d "Beijing can't muzzle outrage over deadly collapsed schools", Globe & Mail, June 17, 2008
  4. ^ “China reiterates severe punishment for companies producing substandard building materials,” Xinhua, May 29, 2008, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/29/content_8279397.htm.
  5. ^ "Parents in uprising in China quake town", Associated Press via Sydney Morning Herald, June 12, 2008
  6. ^ "Experts explain Great Wenchuan Earthquake (权威详解汶川大地震)" (in Chinese). Sichuan Earthquake Administration (SCEA, 四川地震局). Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  7. ^ Zhang, Yingguang; Chen, Zhongxiaolu, Yang, Binbin (张映光 陈中小路 杨彬彬) (2008-06-03). "Collapse of schools were due to poor quality of buildings (学校倒塌缘于建筑质量过差)" (in Chinese). Finance and Economics (《财经》). Retrieved 2008-09-30.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Chinese: 他们指出，地震超过预计强度，并不意味着符合建筑质量标准的建筑物必然倒塌。即使倒塌，由于建筑质量的差异，也有不同的倒塌方式，并不意味着必然造成如此重大的人员伤亡。
  8. ^ Zhang, Yingguang; Chen, Zhongxiaolu, Yang, Binbin (张映光 陈中小路 杨彬彬) (2008-06-03). "Collapse of schools were due to poor quality of buildings (学校倒塌缘于建筑质量过差)" (in Chinese). Finance and Economics (《财经》). Retrieved 2008-09-30.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Chinese: “如果按照建筑规划严格施工的建筑，在地震中并不会倒塌。凡是瞬间垮塌的房屋，肯定不符合建筑规划要求。要么设计不符合，要么施工不符合。”
  9. ^ "Intensity map of the M8.0 earthquake in Wenchuan (汶川8.0级地震烈度分布图)" (in Chinese). China Earthquake Administration (CEA). 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
  10. ^ SAITO, Taiki (2008-05-13). "Earthquake design spectrum in Chinese Design Code" (PDF). International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering (IISEE). Retrieved 2008-09-29. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ XU, Zhengzhong; WANG, Yayong; et al (徐正忠、王亚勇等) (2001). "Code for seismic design of buildings (GB 500011-2001) (partially revised in 2008), Appendix A ( 《建筑抗震设计规范》（GB 500011－2001） （2008 年局部修订） 附录 A 我国主要城镇抗震设防烈度、设计基本地震加速度和设计地震分组)" (in Chinese). Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of PRC (MOHURD, 中华人民共和国住房和城乡建设部). Retrieved 2008-09-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ LIU, Yongguang (刘永光) (2005-10-12). "Common Class B and Class A buildings ([[simplified Chinese characters|Chinese]]: [[Category:Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text]]常见的乙类、甲类建筑)" (in Chinese). Water Resources Engineering Network (水利工程网). Retrieved 2008-09-30. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  13. ^ WANG, Yayong; DAI, Guoying (王亚勇 戴国莹); et al. (2008-07-30). "Standard for classification of seismic protection of building constructions (建筑工程抗震设防分类标准)" (MS-Word) (in Chinese). General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) and Ministry of Housing ande Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) of PRC. Retrieved 2008-09-30. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Principal of Yingxiu Primary School hears cry for help during dreams ([[simplified Chinese characters|Chinese]]: [[Category:Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text]]映秀小学校长梦中听见救命声)" (in Chinese). New Capical Newspaper via People.com.cn (人民网转载《新京报》). 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2008-09-30. {{cite news}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  15. ^ "Xuankou Middle School in Yingxiu: 1,200 students and teachers dug potatoes to feed themselves (映秀镇漩口中学：1200名师生挖土豆充饥)" (in Chinese). Southern Weekend (《南方周末》). 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  16. ^ "Eye witnesses of the earthquake disaster in Beichuan Middle School, Sichuan ([[simplified Chinese characters|Chinese]]: [[Category:Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text]]四川北川中学震灾纪实)" (in Chinese). bczx.changhong.com. Retrieved 2008-10-01. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  17. ^ "Executive Vice Mayor of Mianyang: (We) shall investigate qualify of buildings in Beichuan Middle School ([[simplified Chinese characters|Chinese]]: [[Category:Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text]]绵阳常务副市长：将鉴定北川中学教学楼质量)" (in Chinese). First Finance and Economics Daily (《第一财经日报》) via Sina.com. 2008-05-26. Retrieved 2008-10-01. {{cite news}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  18. ^ Standards cited in this article do not contain provisions about mandatory seismic retrofit.
  19. ^ LI, Jun (李军) (2008-09-01). "CEA formally releases intensity diagram of the Wenchuan earthquake (中国地震局正式公布汶川地震烈度分布图)" (in Chinese). Financial and Economic News (《财经报》). Retrieved 2008-09-30. Chinese: 有的受灾地区可能希望将地震破坏程度评估得严重一些，这样可以多争取补助；
  20. ^ "Direct damage of the Great Wenchuan Earthquake amounts to RMB 84.51 trillion (汶川大地震直接损失８４５１亿)" (in Chinese). Noon News based on Xinhua News (新闻午报据新华社北京9月4日电). 2008-09-04. Retrieved 2008-09-30. Chinese: 一些地方的工作人员，都希望把地方的灾害损失或者地震烈度提高一下
  21. ^ Wong, Edward, "China Presses Hush Money on Grieving Parents," New York Times, July 24, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/world/asia/24quake.html
  22. ^ "Shutting us out?", James Reynolds writing on the BBC Blog Network, June 13, 2008
  23. ^ "China detains quake school critic - rights group", Reuters, June 17, 2008
  24. ^ "A new China appears amid quake rubble", Los Angeles Times, June 17, 2008
  25. ^ "Parents wait for answers on quake school", Associated Press via Google, June 20, 2008
  26. ^ "China anger over 'shoddy schools' ", BBC News Online, May 15, 2008
  27. ^ "Parents of China quake victims express anger", Associated Press via Google, June 12, 2008
  28. ^ "China's government praised for easing media restrictions", Bureau of International Information Programs, May 20, 2008
  29. ^ "Mourning rallies Chinese behind quake relief", Deutsche Presse-Agentur via Monsters and Critics, May 19, 2008
  30. ^ "In Chinese town, quake shakes faith in school construction", Cable News Network, May 18, 2008
  31. ^ "School quake scandal: Bereaved parents accuse China government of allowing shoddy construction", Toronto Sun, June 5, 2008
  32. ^ "Chinese govt promises inquiry into shoddy construction", The World Today via abc.net.au, May 23 ,2008
  33. ^ "China prosecutors join quake school collapse probe", Reuters via International Herald Tribune, June 16, 2006
  34. ^ "UNICEF external situation report China earthquake", UNICEF via ReliefWeb, June 17, 2008
  35. ^ "MA Zongjin: Responsibility of school collapses in Wenchuan earthquake still under investigation (马宗晋：汶川地震倒塌校舍责任问题仍在调查)" (in Chinese). State Council State Council Information Office via SINA.com. 2008-09-04. Retrieved 2008-09-30. Chinese: 我们还在仔细地思考和调查这个问题。
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