Proud, sad moment as Olympic torch tours quake-ravaged Sichuan

The Olympic torch began its tour of China's Sichuan province Sunday, less than three months after an earthquake killed 70,000 people there and left more than five million homeless.

The CBC's Michel Cormier, reporting from the provincial capital, Chengdu, said it was a proud and sad moment for people who are only beginning to rebuild their lives after the disaster.

Many are still living under tarps and afraid to return to their damaged homes — if they haven't already been bulldozed to make room for new shelters, he said. Nerves were frayed further by a strong aftershock on Friday.

Sichuan, where the torch relay will touch four cities, is the last stop before the Olympic flame heads to Beijing for Friday's opening ceremonies. It was to have come to Sichuan in June, but plans were changed in the aftermath of the earthquake.

The relay began with a minute of silence for the quake victims, and the torchbearers included people who worked as rescuers.

But not all is harmonious in Sichuan, Cormier reported.

Chinese authorities are cracking down even harder than before on parents who say their children died needlessly in schools that collapsed because they were badly built.

"We tried to interview some parents today, but we were surrounded by police and so were they," he said.