The Frame: First anniversary of the Sichuan province earthquake

BEICHUAN, China (AP) -- China marked the first anniversary of a massive earthquake on Tuesday in a somber, nationally televised ceremony filled with flowers and speeches, as the normally distant Chinese leadership provided an unusually cathartic public moment. The 30-minute memorial service in front of a destroyed school in the Sichuan province town of Yingxiu followed a minute of silence that began at 2:28 p.m. (0628 GMT), the moment the magnitude-7.9 temblor shook China -- and some countries beyond -- on May 12, 2008. Villages were toppled or buried and landslides raked mountains as large portions of Sichuan -- where the quake was centered -- and two neighboring provinces were wrecked. Nearly 90,000 people were killed or never found, and 5 million were made homeless in the deadliest earthquake to hit in decades. (18 images)

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father cries for the son near the ruins of the Beichuan Middle School on May 12, 2009, during the one year anniversary of the Wenchuan Earthquake that caused the Beichuan middle school to collapse, killing around 1,000 students and teachers in Beichuan county of Mianyang city of Sichuan Province, China. Many commemoration activities were held to mark the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake which struck Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008 and claimed nearly 90,000 lives. Getty Images / Feng Li

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Chinese parents cry near the ruins of the Beichuan Middle School during the one-year anniversary of the Wenchuan Earthquake that caused the Beichuan middle school to collapse, killing around 1,000 students and teachers. Getty Images / Feng Li

A Chinese parent, right, and a school teacher hug each other as they grieve outside the Beichuan middle school where around 1,000 students and teachers were killed when the school collapsed during the 2008 earthquake in Beichuan, southwestern China's Sichuan province. AP / Ng Han Guan

A Chinese man grieves for his child who was killed when the Beichuan middle school collapsed during the 2008 earthquake in Beichuan, southwestern China's Sichuan province. Survivors of last year's devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan province trekked into the ruined town of Beichuan Tuesday for anniversary commemorations of the tragedy that left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing and nearly 5 million homeless. AP / Ng Han Guan

A father cries for her daughter near the ruins of the Beichuan Middle School during the one-year anniversary of the Wenchuan Earthquake that caused the Beichuan middle school to collapse. Getty Images / Feng Li

A father burns papers and candles for his child near the ruins of the Beichuan Middle School during the one-year anniversary of the Wenchuan Earthquake that caused the Beichuan middle school to collapse killing around 1,000 students and teachers. Getty Images / Feng Li

Chinese parents burn offerings to mourn their child near the ruins of the Beichuan Middle School during the one-year anniversary of the Wenchuan Earthquake that caused the Beichuan middle school to collapse killing around 1,000 students and teachers. Getty Images / Feng Li

Health workers bow after offering flowers to their loved ones killed in the earthquake during a ceremony to commemorate the first anniversary of a devastating earthquake in Beichuan, southwestern China's Sichuan province. AP / Ng Han Guan

People visit the quake devastated town of Beichuan, southwestern China's Sichuan province, Tuesday, May 12 , 2009. State leaders laid flowers and survivors burned paper money for departed spirits as a mournful China marked the first anniversary Tuesday of a devastating earthquake that left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing and 5 million homeless. AP / Ng Han Guan

A Chinese girl burns paper offerings for departed spirits in Beichuan, southwestern China's Sichuan province, Tuesday, May 12, 2009. AP / Ng Han Guan

Tens of thousands of people walk between huge rocks at a landslide site to mourn their relatives in earthquake-hit Beichuan county during the one-year anniversary of the Wenchuan Earthquake on May 12, 2009 in Mianyang of Sichuan Province, China. Getty Images / Feng Li

Visitors are reflected off the shattered windows of a quake hit building in the town of Beichuan, southwestern China's Sichuan province, Tuesday, May 12, 2009. AP / Ng Han Guan

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a woman cries beside the river in the quake-devastated Beichuan, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Tuesday, May 12, 2009. AP / Jiang Hongjing

Thousands of people pack the road to the devastated town of Beichuan on May 12, 2009 which was destroyed in the May 12, 2008 Sichuan earthquake. AFP / Getty Images / Peter Parks

Thousands of people flock to look at the devastated town of Beichuan on May 12, 2009 which was destroyed in the May 12, 2009 Sichuan earthquake. AFP / Getty Images / Peter Parks

A woman cries as thousands of people flock to look at the devastated town of Beichuan on May 12, 2009 which was destroyed in the May 12, 2008 Sichuan earthquake. AFP / Getty Images / Peter Parks

People gather for a candle light vigil for Sichuan Earthquake victims Tuesday May 12, 2009 in Shanghai, China. S AP Photo

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May 12, 2009

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