Yang Huabing, a former secondary school principal in Sichuan province, walks with an artificial leg at the opening ceremony of the Sichuan Earthquake One-Year-On Photo Exhibition yesterday. Edmond Tang

HONG KONG: Maintaining a positive attitude was the key to speedy recovery from the Sichuan earthquake disaster, say two quake survivors.

Speaking on the eve of the first-anniversary of the devastating quake which killed tens of thousands on May 12 last year, amputee Yang Huabing, 54, said he kept a brave face despite the daunting challenges that lay before him.

"As a quake survivor, I feel obliged to live out my life so as to thank those who risked their lives to pull me out from the rubble. I would feel guilty if I committed suicide," he said.

Yang was the principal of the Mianzhu Northeast Secondary School when the quake struck. He was inspecting a village school in Jinhua town along with a colleague.

"The office suddenly collapsed ten minutes after we stepped into the room and the school principal, my colleague and I were buried," he recalled.

"I was conscious at that time, but I thought I was on the brink of death," he said. "After hours of waiting, I was finally pulled out by the People's Liberation Army around 8 am the next day."

Both his legs had been injured so seriously that they had to be amputated on May 14 last year, he said.

He was later referred to the Rehabilitation, Prosthetic and Orthotic Center run by the Deyang Disabled Persons' Federation and Hong Kong Red Cross. There he was given prostheses.

"I did not want to go out after having my legs amputated. I felt uneasy. But a psychologist at the center kept encouraging me and said my friends would be compassionate and wouldn't look down upon me," he said on reflection.

"So I regained my confidence after receiving counseling and started to visit my friends as usual since the Lunar New Year."

Liu Yudong, 19, had his left leg amputated after the quake. He said he was the only survivor in his class after the school collapsed.

When officiating at the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition featuring pictures showing the reconstruction works and services run by the Hong Kong Red Cross, he said: "Whatever hardship we are facing, we must believe in ourselves and overcome the difficulties with determination."

Wilson Wong Mok-fai, deputy secretary general of the Hong Kong Red Cross, said the group had so far raised HK$1.3 billion for the reconstruction work in quake-stricken areas and HK$1.1 billion had been spent.

He said the group was funding the reconstruction of more than 18,000 houses, 17 hospitals, over 20 schools and more than 200 village clinics in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.

The photo exhibition will run at APM in Kwun Tong, Tai Po Mega Mall, New Jade Shopping Arcade in Chai Wan, Chi Fu Landmark in Pok Fu Lam and Yuen Long Plaza in phrases until June 18.

(HK Edition 05/12/2009 page1)