Petitioners say blueprint proves their school made of 'tofu'

• Source: The Global Times
• [00:18 May 15 2009]
• Comments

The parents of grade 9 student Zhu Lan mourn their daughter. Photos: Li Liqiang, Zhengzhou Daily.

Excavating through rubble in June, one of the parents found something precious: the original blueprints for their school building. Lu Shihua, a parent who lost his child at Beichuan, then went around and asked all of the affected school parents to sign the petition.

The petition accuses the: 

1. school construction crew, employed by the Beichuan cultural and educational bureau (now Beichuan education bureau);

2. school former principal Zhao Changlun; and,

3. former head of the school's general office Zhao Quanxing of being responsible for negligent construction.

Attached to the petition is testimony by Wang Bin and construction worker Wang Shumu. They both confirm that Lu Wanchun, a member of the construction unit, was selling construction materials including steel and cement, during the 1994-1998 construction period of the building. He sold some of those materials to Wang Bin.

Also included are detailed comparisons between the building's blueprint specifications and their on-the-spot findings - steel girders and beams both shorter and smaller than standards required.

Not one legal or architecture expert had offered any help to them, said Liu. The parents, many of whom were only of junior middle school educational level, gathered together, bumped heads and studied the blueprint. They compared the specs with their own on-the-spot findings: their measurements leave little room for doubt, according to Liu.