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Shaanxi Automobile, a truck factory, is situated well outside X'ian in an industrial zone. Shaanxi Automobile has transformed itself from a manufacturer of military trucks to a maker of commercial vehicles. It is turning out some 500 trucks a day. It is selling its heavy-duty trucks globally, penetrating the African, European and Asian markets. In Thailand, it is marketing its heavy-duty trucks under the brand name Shacman, going against market leaders such as Hino and Isuzu.

The Chinese-made heavy-duty trucks are priced competitively and are of a reliable quality due to technology transfer from Germany.

As we were watching and taking pictures of the heavy-duty truck, I heard a lot of noise. At first, I thought that a truck had come off the assembly line and was about to crash into us. Then I looked at the ceiling. The air-conditioning tubes were shaking like crazy. Within seconds, all of the people there were running for their lives out of the factory. I, too, ran out as fast as I could.

Only when we were outside the factory were we able to realise we were experiencing an earthquake. A marketing lady from the company was crying out, "Oh, what's going on? I am feeling dizzy. The world is moving".

In the open air, with my feet firmly stamping on the ground, I felt that the earth beneath me was moving. It was a clear-sky afternoon. The earth beneath me was moving so violently I felt as if I was standing on a Chao Phya River pier. Hundreds of workers were talking among themselves, unsure of whether the factory buildings would collapse.

The earthquake went on for about 10 minutes. It was the longest 10 minutes of my life. I was not sure whether the ground under my feet would open up and suck us into it. I was afraid that the trucks might be hurled toward us by the quake. I was not sure either whether I would be able to return to Thailand safely. Then, after 10 minutes, things became more stable. I boarded a bus along with the rest of the group of Thais visiting China on invitation of the State Council Information Office, and we left the factory.

Luckily, we were several hundred miles away from Sichuan, the epicentre of the earthquake. We did not then realise that this was going to be one of the worst earthquakes to have hit China in recent memory. Now the death toll from the powerful earthquake in Sichuan has jumped to more than 51,000. Almost 30,000 people remain missing. Some five million have been left homeless.

When we returned to our hotel that evening, we noticed cracks everywhere on the lobby floor as a result of the tremor. I went to my room on the 12th floor of the hotel and found that the lamps in the bathroom had shattered. The maids were cleaning broken glass from all floors of the hotel.

I went to bed that night unsure of what was going to happen next. Normally, there are aftershocks. Was the worst still to come? I woke up suddenly at 4:15am the following morning. My bed was shaking. I thought I must be dreaming. I looked up at the lamp hanging above my bed. It was swinging like a lullaby. Should I grab my passport and wallet and call up my colleagues? Should we run down the stairs from the 12th floor? I decided to keep cool. Before long, I returned to bed.

We have to admire the Chinese leadership for rushing to help the victims of the earthquake upon learning about the disaster. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao flew to the site and directed the relief efforts. He told the relief workers to dig deeper into the rubble to help the people stuck underneath.

China has also drastically changed the way it informs the public about earthquakes. CCTV, the state-controlled television station, devoted two channels to 24-hour reporting on the earthquake. The world can see what is going on. China ends up getting all the global sympathy. Sadly, this is so contrary to what's going on in Burma, where the country's leadership is still playing games while millions are suffering from the cyclone.