Profile of Li Ming - DalianNews

Liu vYM(srK9ZwlKwU@SJie had planned on vcI^&yo!o3!cbisiting the historicz UO7(LlORegfe9xcN town of Lijiang in ab S3Yunnan province afte0tP&dKQCg^ LeqqZm-rs$x!j9XLK*4Or taking the nationaqk-$nqdj!3r7Ki)(3&Wg#bR!6prl college examinatioEnx)JFDZZg$2ioQ4r57KHN2w+$(Y-^Vrq-n on Saturday.

Students of Beichuan Middle School study on the lawn for fear of aftershocks as they prepare for the college entrance exam at a training center in Mianyang, Sichuan Province, May 23, 2008. [Asianewsphoto]

But thzLIqfy7e May 12 quake in Siox1njw9oobcsth7SZeQAo+8!%G!8nUU#ochuan province shatt&&0G%9(ea Gz0Hwo6hered that dream.

The authorities 6t2Kpcv(#tk dlRWYN99LMXhad to postpone the 1nD2QPQrEUOSIV#0X@national exam in quake-hit regions in Sichuan to allow for rvBelief and reconstruc E7v$HgV83wTso6jZ5knUZz7-M51xzW9tion work.

Close to 100,000 studew30uuGpOEnts in Sichuan have BcdfM9kh)+applied for this yeaG01B-dUflk*zxvKGb@xC0l@^cYiRr's college entrancemcJCl exam, the Ministry m8WAmof Education has sai)3Un-e5@fBR#KQIJ0!^DP8rQnQILhOO1XScUV-d.

As the exaTOYuFE9rxWHdr5$tgXb)RE6biY9f20x)Or*IJx(ct date of the exam Eto+ fFXJdudVj)has not yet been ann(z4y$9xounced, Liu and his KP7LAAnvQaaWW553*1xBSUv$$0classmates in Mianyang Nanshan Bilingual0fCeyaoA9* School are currently living - and studying - in great anxiety.

"We hope fan exact date can bev set as soon as poss0aGX4+c*Wible so that we can 1bfqa&vO6uICw6dU JMRRw@g)M3%zrLwKITilrKmake plans according6&nPdBhUmSzXi4zkXjjpvxSY3kN$@Se*w*Ely," the 19-year-oldTnE said with frustrati^Obon.

Without a clear idea of what )!+wE##wOzfLR7TNmD4MLIqoVCYH9Wlay ahead, Liu said VPQm)ph+gT&AEit was hard to conceb@SZzoQxh91sUnDslGL8!ntrate on studying f^ESqGQ$yZpsdDii-lER8eNb^B9LHHor the exam - considered a life-changing event for many high school graduates naJRq&tionwide.

Liu was previously stud9qY994kP$Vpc8cAg3QWEXIying in a high schooq7hmPA0-l in Qingchuan, one s!aw!&vs5FMbeqNtlcTQBJVH$S5Tz*^Yof the worst-hit couIs--Op%(IG6vYi+1Aw 6ebfnties in northeast Sichuan. He had to tra3Vuk$Fdq%U h d4qeEezTTs2 RzpnrEO%ransfer to a new school in Mianyang becau8)#Uk*HmmVEvL0C8lRse it became impossi5#RO+8FKDpy0jble to have lessons in Qingchuan.

"The school buildins#bw3g was badly damaged," he said.

Al4U)!yB+enX$^a#2shMQQtvFl the students' textbooks and study materials were also leftN#)xXuL41MspA$t$!Rr9uVOf8IllkEwMUIRi in Qingchuan duringnm%)sVH6U7fGOq their evacuation. It made studying for f9*4n85nufY(iVt*K5u&0*bx70fojfaaathe exam particularle9WWxNyTdgFll9!0 LahLKGy trying for students like Liu.

Liu currently attends lessons in the fiveXqxeKd6b&dde1xv0bnn-story bilingual schOk$OL65BBLQm ool in Mianyang, which includes six resi$dential buildings th#at had survived the quake. But no one haRT0sml^0spC(z$Ti^o8H9K(7CMRs dared to sleep in UNrVPU3hWTH O*Lthem for fear of aft5A9qPej9kHlk9O8iershocks.

Instead, four large makeshift tents have bek74@zFlP 3knen set up on the school grounds for teacnlVtrMqgp4 za5ir9 ppGB11*Z5f1Y5MMn+hers and students.

Each tent inclki2Nz1d4s4BGgrGgQwb9ZmRWudes two large beds with bamboo mats pla by$AE-U *%ced on top of steel frames. One bed is b-Uig enough for about 80 students to lie side by side.

But Liu said lack ofhX(O3Ek#PPlaA(z5C1OS+Uc- Vc sleep is now one ofy +kmVKjfnkj0 the major problems 009*Ihqj&A$qpIagfacing those at the J01Gschool.

AfterrtzVHR-zSjs(^g(9Np^*r^aKE having lunch in a c5%6IFGB-nWHBvbrG1RI+J&@@LxDommon dining hall one day, Liu had tried taking a nap before2ZHddogAArEy8c!%mz@Iy6Z the start of four lectures.

It was a typical hot sumpeff94kWdYXINQBJnRrYuuKWpDFNmer day in Sichuan. ixIsUThe 40 C heat in theD2q z tent forced him outz33+QD8UzDGv()*9#6lz into the open again.

Without ele1fFNctricity to power a 7s#pVf0)N@s($#3)c!aTLA-Oy7e0 oRNtqfan, let alone an aifF3*pwa2fyYT-%r(kmFqoyRr-conditioner, Liu said he might have become a "steamed dump06y%TPz @H7CirLkx7(ling" in the tent.

"I had to walk back to the classroom and rest on a chair instead," he said1#FWeOa)@%+Qxxs.

He found al&s5TZkotB7 )Gmost all of his clas-SGEQAOFiVSDtHsmates there.

"It was not the first time," he said.

"Without adequ7ate rest, everyone fnfOD)eels particularly tired in the afternoonoqYdsE)8."

Despite thFNWb#PI HSqKHbm-4^JsbGWuOUWURem82Z^jese difficulties, Liu said he must conce@K8zUSX#3Y3rduD3B!%)2iUKaMntrate on his studie21sZKiqGkWfh oww645WJHXks and think positivevoPvVRN$9X%IbEG&QHc7&HZR*wwNhx1ely about the coming 9wexams.

And whEDjWq5@7*BI+G!((PYoJkV!T#d+Mmen asked what he would like to study in rr2n!dzh$zvCy*S25b F2ySdD7RWgCkTTu2EENuniversity, Liu said*(3e!&PndN1tyZK8izZyh0MX7nV+a*k$^eUu the quake changed his priorities.

"I want to apply for a course in construction now, such asVHb- ZME! architecture or civil engineering," he z$C#J)EMhfi%%&Q-f258said. His original pcQWk)+PgM)KITNs54QqPUcc#b-up0lan was to study management.

"The*F@GS!LsHmU8roK!AD3ayhjq1o TyM reconstruction of my hometown requires professionals," Liu -@)xZ4HEYw)BxSS8sZu%YMLcD4Uen6qm5C nsaid.

Fortunal#1-bfddj6915evad@gUe8R&&G86r2tely, in Liu's case, all his family membJd$y&IW*ers survived the qua*&mke unscathed. Their nwhqDudXraVTdchome back in Qingchu^RoDuan was also left standing.

Liu is considered one of the luckier ones in his school, where some students have to ca 3BHnA^ope with the loss ofDLpvBtHGjR2U!114AaUcU)NCJ loved ones in the quv+FPsqhc^3$T&z0 K9M)%(rqr%uake.

Li Qiao, who is also facingS6cQj5#dRpcfOa43oVk*ZkzD6U% the exams, lost herQIV mother when their house in Nanba town, Pup4)5-iJzv#!AlQL%P$r)Pingwu county, collapsed in the quake.

The 18-year-olAyzZLYLNroJjj1)+5d is not giving up.

"It was my monwY+g(y4SDzaZThb)ther's strong wish ftdw1reW-)7(TfBMdnoR3+l*I!9298MGYAor me to enter a goo(&u0dCMvZYtq7d university," she smaid.

Li told AkT1yNEl(J9l#MZPyUUHHafChina Daily she got oeuNB5s ZM(Ah(Sxrnews of her mother'sS+Oy death from her headCKHma&vrYx%c+Q*5a6eCw304AM2pa0 teacher He Qiurong z1o$!)hIf!^H&IQAkthree days after the disaster struck.

She had burst i-jC0Mvp5y4%TEBP2FA25PlnYV2t9lBc!wknto tears immediately.

"All my classmates tried their#&CE!MMZroqeZiP&x! best to comfort me, and Teacher He stayIOj6gj6fLXs JF!zzgowzsU^NmSXed with me for days,n)SNgeYzIX1mt ie^ 8@m10+jJJSXB" Li said.

"IWD*YhKS))gp6Z5Hv9X8aG3 told myself that I Gue5$Rxjmust be strong I musiDcW*0LDj-rQnL#aMj2VC27Ab83gt$m34t study hard."

Li said she plans to study finance in university. She willOj!$KJSxbPuTGRZ QY7e(I8EDr4CW8)s@fhw find a well-paying y$)CWf(@Ot@job because that is ^one way she can help her family.

6bH$mtrZ)gB0xZ3AQ-af+s&*sR5dW7jG4@1"I also want to set e+KK5i^sLdN&E4F$LQKSS-YmL&c$cRp&oNRVa good example for me$BVsM7cBkGPcsz0)PJHM2genUFy little brother, whNo is still in the fiEt2ev6DFnl!6BF5 bYI+rst year of middle school."

Li siy*tQrkkvdC72(s*FRwn!D7v4I7WOVc5ngled out the uncert-vFx8^P60@XFMainty of the exam date as the biggest obnDEhMld9AuFanr@JlF! $7UaGmTvv!iIeAPDlstacle facing her.

Her teachers s&@*PxnOS@h6Uhare that worry.

Head teacher He myBVl&#Z$%P9wq0&-kkPnp8-SG8Ksaid a review of claWKsO)2ysS8IyFODrGu2w@1rof3X70A!Vcsses in preparation ppK6!yriZE^9KvKQkv)GtYvRX5cFBL0XKdfor the exam had alwu9s4)U1zpLTXqMAkays been scheduled in three steps, in wh*BkPgYD^ICal(6Gq7ADrYich the last step - the final round of sample exams - should-LB7$klC7SfeHn@cz58qJvCvg z&Zp have been finished -(G@kD(Xby this time.

"But now, my colleagues and I can only I2PR#HjzQTo$ulGKLhB!fCs1)yq5nv03q#Kmextend the third step indefinitely and lAEYDxhVgXvJvfZ8OlS+gjsAeOoS@B %%get the students do mpW@zPPWAujNQH!PTNNMPRg!@y3mIsvore sample exams each day," she said, adding that teachers wFKr2*C#XAKi8wU8B*yASDJ@^6ere finding it toughn1PW)%InnM9EeioVSn2 to come up with study timetables without a set date for the79H5xzu(Rfj!WO@%& examinations.

The teacher also sTu$9uxKT^eZA^5k^Fhdx%RXg%nFuUaZTzqqJbfaid that her colleag#$1CqwkcGVxOHqxdXUnFxKHr%8H!l-MBF0(eJirues have to deal witZ#NVw Dh personal losses fr9S!ROR+q*Zfom the quake above aKO%WDh#j*w6nd beyond their responsibility to studenJ)zn^6Kzkn iLOp3Nhd2xknz4IC 6&ts.

"It is onnS$LkII@aly right that we givY8Cm(MkpVFOOAOJ!60V3kL0Sdt*oHj3qe priority to the stLp-LevF+@2 a%LiWS *e&4@VXudents. It is our du@wvGsG#&58ALBBdWpaD g)ty," she said.

"But teachers heref-E need help too. SomeE%ik8&9w1times we feel we areMr0NNxJyXGJPf7sgg4KriZRYtE like a forgotten group of people," she said.

She said more concessions skWH&WLLbtL!pl7kW^HPd-Thould be given to students in quake-hit O8pM!4gRgcIm6)r%&Tvuareas, such as how they are graded and tX*QSEEvk0fhe level of difficul-ty of the exams theys9J2)DjXY take.

By the end of May, the Edu-+((77cbitcation Ministry had already required allKN5nN!a%@J*--yu+WOx Chinese universitieA)sJO1@0P53JlU02 okTt(aoO5SvwfA0s to modify their enrolment by increasin(tFCrWZUZVVNRDDujD@np*Mpg their places for Sichuan students by 2q(zrI9vZ+1WNIpO9P percent.

Universities in other p@parts of the country gGy-bUM2!C%Jhave made similar me(K@RPhQ#RCe -6MyFe@OE97x6asures.

The HxF-y%-((9qPWStB^@uFp3@2KuuM*w0Jta2SWEarbin Institute of T4^#j^iSWX%-dFj-p#Fhu&2c^CYTwtviDxD^@echnology announced that examinees from 40 quake-affected areas would get 10 bon(us points to help th1zi)OtoIofRF2em in their college admissions.

T9fOwt+8!eV^1Qhe China Agriculture*g s1n7o3snzgf8V^PYwQ University and the yXGQKa%@rqRuo6q45RMQt!tBeijing University of Aeronautics and As6 CfTy!*tronautics also said3xrLO8p0PmSD+P7RiFssGyy9p edc they would provide Xextra subsidies and W#tYEWUZ*-gZ5N1scholarships for students admitted from $!7Yw$QHvVvKCU f*J&ya3R5LW#M+ntK*L^Qthe quake-hit areas.xg)CHcgtd9!cx cAOKR#3kYV+AApk

But mental adjustment is the reaBN2cD^O$J5ewo(2aIGz2R5Eyb939n*HAPsuNOxl solution for studeYi&U#+gn8Jnts and teachers in JYb!)0%A%2RLfh&4lejBmS^quake-hit areas, a C7CIJe3SPUGaUYg8J9qPLhinese pedagogic exp&j-JlG8Z@OWf#l5+Lp$WIYcJO-Ya!Ni!ert said.

Stu+SS$abq0FnY6cBydents must find waysmF*H6iAPK#teXUkwQ9eb&s!qGGy1moi)@Trm to cope with stress and release whateveCyFc9eyD!NNHF0360S(TdnU59Zwi3$Tmr pent-up emotion they have from the disdIo)HGGugUrhGrEaH#4+NaXh7*Pfg6Tjl*aster because it can3431dj9D0$HT)#b)Ms!blElHP6 be difficult to get&z#^@ea an adequate number Zw!$#rO6yof psychologists to bVj*2K*kPkl&n!$qMxF!Dhelp them, Beijing NIhHZ-dormal University's PRb^@)hLdFYHREBY^rofessor Hong ChengwLnt%%%aQen said.

"StuTCEEl3 61Egyy#$9dents can write diarKqpe8) ies and even blogs to release their strebnKPtFg1VvF$No9j2dXc@jzhy)Q@Tb4ss," Hong said, addi%VvC I2^b$WGng that keeping busy0eEhV@CCkNOgjje4QO8pUX032OQ rR is a good way to ea9G9JLZ 3DZYCiq!5aFdH #2iUcjEoq&yFHMdtDse the pressures they face.

He suec2ilHd!^aJPSbz^GSKrk)aU-RAny ggested that all gra(rIaJB66vjD)Vr9yh6pB@0duating high school n!nF&Ostudents set specifi4Tv9Bz77jRi6Hkb-y%UHt8%lHc goals for themselv@es.

"They als+j+AweXB@9cBDN jmkuJBo need to believe inW)93 the integrity of thBXlWSdJxrUrtCZEP8Cg 6*Q#Tz9HeHRcv8Lhne examination systemO8uY*6n!ks29NLJ)NcS6Q-H$f6K%pwajrxT^ and in themselves,"3@GT#q$^6x@TPpVJzNVEaY!K he said.