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GUEST: Robert Weil, author of Red Cat, White Cat: China and the Contradictions of ‘Market Socialism’

The death toll following Monday’s devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake in China could surpass 50,000. The Chinese government has already confirmed 19,500 deaths as troops and rescue workers continue to search for thousands buried under the rubble in the province of Sichuan. River dams near the quake’s epicenter have reportedly been damaged by cracks increasing fears of potential floods following any aftershocks. In fact, this morning, a strong aftershock at 5.9 on the Richter scale struck near the original epicenter. The Chinese government has been accepting foreign disaster relief aid even from its rival Taiwan as countless survivors are now without shelter and desperately need food and water. As the summer Olympics approach, one Washington-based organization has already called on the Chinese government to cancel the games. The Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition says that, at the very least, the opening ceremony should be called off. State media, which has been one of several points of international criticism ahead of the Olympics, has had increasingly transparent coverage of the aftermath of the earthquake, distancing itself from previous disaster reporting by allowing foreign journalists unrestricted access in Sichuan.