Government blunts activism set off by China quake When a powerful earthquake flattened Sichuan province a year ago, community organizer Zhang Guoyuan seized the
moment. Within days, he was running an aid center and warehouse, coordinating 700 volunteers and taking in $1.6 million in donated food, medicines, supplies and cash. Then the police told him to stop. The catastrophic earthquake last May 12 set off an unprecedented surge of volunteerism in China. But the government, always wary of groups beyond its control, has since sought to restrain it