"Grandpa" Wen comforts China's earthquake victims

By Chris Buckley

BEIJING (Reuters) - Clambering over shattered buildings, tearfully comforting weeping children, hollering into a bullhorn, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has become the unusually open and emotional face of his nation's response to calamity.

The 65-year-old head of government has dominated China's public handling of its worst earthquake in 32 years, rushing to the scene hours after the 7.9 magnitude tremor hit on Monday.

To judge from scenes of Wen in the worst-hit parts of Sichuan province, he is treating the disaster as a very personal test of his and his government's bonds with the people.

Visiting one of the many schools toppled by the quake, Wen marched through mud and shards of concrete and tile, and wept "hot tears" when he reached rescuers trying to dig out two trapped children, the People's Daily reported on Wednesday.

"I'm grandpa Wen Jiabao. You children will certainly be able to tough this out and be rescued," Wen yelled into the crevice.

Wen's heart-on-sleeve approach sets him apart from the ranks of guarded politicians who dominate the unelected Communist Party leadership. But he also echoes Party predecessors who seized such moments of public immersion, especially in times of crisis, as an antidote to potential discontent.

"Chinese tradition usually expects leaders to be guarded and maintain a sense of mystery. He's an exception, and certainly not all officials would be willing to take such a public role," said Zhang Ming, a historian at Renmin University in Beijing.

"I'd say that faced with so many crises, especially this year, the Party has been learning that it helps to have a more open face people can connect to," he said, referring to a cold snap that caused huge economic damage and then Tibetan riots that led to a protest-dogged world tour for Beijing Olympic torch.