China's Quake Damage Control

I commented on this earlier, but Time has picked up the theme, and its time to say more.

Link: China's Quake Damage Control - TIME.

The speed of China's response to the devastation caused by the earthquake, and especially Premiere Wen Jiabao's arrival there is significant for several reasons. Time picks up one especially; past ackowldgement of such events has been poor, and intervention slow. The huge struction caused by the Tangshan earthquake of 1976 was covered up for years. The response to SARS in 2003 was slow and covered up. Even the initial response to the freezing conditions that caused transport for the New Year Celebrations this year was slow. One could be cynical here and say that this year must be different: the many visitors to China this summer will include many to Chengdu (especially if Tibet is hard to get to), and many of them will want to see Pandas, and there is not way they will miss seeing the damage or be put off going to the region. So they have no choice but acknowledge it.  (By the way, as the Time blog pointed out, China is not the only nation to get this wrong; President Bush's response to Orleans after Hurricane Katrina was  days too late.  The great Sichuan earthquake: What we know so far (and a second earthquake this morning)

Time does  not say this, but the response time of minutes was very impressive (if he left the office less than 90 minute after the earthquake took place he must have been preparing to leave for an hour before that). It is of course set in stark contrast to the 10 days of minimal response of the Burmese generals to the cyclone there. And of course it contrasts with the image projected so much in the west of China this past two months.

The cynical can say, this was a PR exercise no one dared or wanted to dream of.  But in the light of the fact that no one knows the thoughts of men and women's hearts, let believe the best, look on it positively, honour it  -- and try and do the same ourselves lest we be judged in the light of our hypocrisy.

Update:

The BBC records a statement that all offers of help  are welcome.   See here