Up until a couple of years ago, death tolls in China were considered state secrets and not released to the public. The SARS crisis helped central planners that openness in such matters was much better policy.

Thus far, it appears the government's response to the China earthquake has been exemplary. The state media have been reporting on the issue steadily, and the premier went to the region immediately after the quake (reassuring people that there would be close management of disaster relief). People throughout the PRC have been made aware of the developing scope of the crisis.

For links to a variety of English-language (but China based) coverage and blogs, and for China news in general, I recommend Danwei: www.danwei.org