Words can't describe my feelings about the May 12 earthquake that has killed at least 15,000 so far, erased some Sichuan localities from the map and affected another dozen provinces across China.

Early Monday morning, EST, China's Xinhua News Agency reported 107 casualties in the quake. I called as many people in China as possible until 8:15 a.m., when I had to leave home for work. Everybody I spoke with was fine.

I was in a meeting from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. When I came out, colleagues asked me about the quake and I said about 100 people died. But then on the Internet, the death toll exploded to 9,000 by around noon. I was appalled, to say the least. I sent a group e-mail to all my Chinese friends outside of China--in North America, Europe, Australia, and the rest of Asia, asking if any of their friends or families were in the affected areas. I received a dozen brief replies from friends saying that their relatives were in the region, but, thank God, they survived in one piece.

Chinese who are living overseas are raising money for the quake. Houston Rockets' basketball center Yao Ming, alone, has donated 2 million yuan from the U.S. In the Cleveland-Akron area, where I am, Chinese student and scholar associations at area colleges and universities are taking the lead, followed by other regional organizations.

Among Western media, Wall Street Journal has presented in-depth coverage, especially in this article: China Earthquake Exposes a Widening Wealth Gap.

A friend of mine who works in the financial district in Pudong, Shanghai said she rushed out of the shaking building where she was working and saw, on the nicely mowed lawns between the new, well-built high-rises, a group of white collar workers filling out their life insurance forms -- right there on the lawn. But how many of the 15,000 (incomplete stat) small town residents and farmers who have died in the quake had life insurance? How many of the 64,000 injured (incomplete stat) have health insurance and disability insurance?

I also blame the poor quality of buildings in rural areas and small cities for the horrific damages. But according to an architect friend who has worked in China, Australia, France, Canada and the United States, even Shanghai and Beijing have plenty of sub-par buildings. "They build fast and cheap, not so strict with shock-resistance performance," she said.

Rumor has it the Water Cube Aquatics Center in Beijing already has a few leaking points ... I hope it's just rumor.

Most Westerners probably know Sichuan only for its world-renowned spicy cuisine. But Sichuan people are also known in the Chinese community for being optimistic, strong, hard working and ready to help others. Just hang in there. With help from all over the world--starting with an 800 million yuan relief fund raised in the first two days after the quake, I hope Sichuan recovers soon!

Pray for China. Pray for Sichuan.

P.S.: The Taiwanese government is donating 2 billion Taiwanese new dollars (452 million yuan or US$65 million) for the quake areas. This marks the first time ever that the Taiwanese government has made a donation for the mainland. In the plastic industry, Taiwan's Formosa Group is donating 100 million yuan and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. 60 million yuan.