Alex Wang's Blog
The Earthquake in China
May 16, 2008
Posted by Alex Wang
This past Monday sometime around three in the afternoon our staff in Beijing felt a strange swaying sensation, a few of them said they felt dizzy and saw the glass partition walls of our offices buckle and wave for a few moments. After they had evacuated to the ground floor, several of them were surprised to find (as phone calls were made and instant messages sent) that the cause of this had been a massive earthquake fully on the other side of the country, nearly a thousand miles away in the southwestern province of Sichuan. That the impact could be felt so far away from the epicenter was the first clue of the magnitude of the disaster, but it has been a shock for all of us to see the nearly complete devastation in Sichuan and to watch the death toll climb beyond 20,000 with the end not even remotely in site. My colleague Zhang Jingjing is from Sichuan, and though her family thankfully is safe, she has friends and acquaintances in the region who have not yet surfaced.
It has been remarkable for me to see how the earthquake has brought the country together (and China together with the world). In a year that has brought seemingly one divisive issue after another, the earthquake has created a sort of unity within China and an outpouring of sympathy from outside (our inboxes have filled with messages of sympathy from colleagues and friends in the States and elsewhere).
And it has brought about a series of seeming firsts that have been notable, even amidst the breakneck pace of change that is the norm in today’s China.
Though China has not had a strong tradition of organized philanthropy, the disaster has brought a flood of donations to come from all corners of the country.
Though Chinese NGOs have been weak and lacking in resources, the earthquake has nonetheless ignited a flurry of activity among them (in a way that, say, the Songhua River benzene explosion in 2005 did not). The groups have organized collection drives and have sought out medical experts to send to the disaster area. The environmental groups, like Green Earth Volunteers, Friends of Nature and Xiamen Green Cross, have been particularly good at this, mobilizing the extensive networks they’ve built over the years in the service of environmental education and protection to bring resources to the disaster relief effort.
The media coverage and rapid government response to the disaster have been another surprise. A system where the main official news organs have tended to stiffly read pre-vetted and approved statements was transformed seemingly overnight into an active, modern news channel, taking live reports from reporters on the ground and (most notably) giving frequent updates on the rapidly rising death toll (this sort of information has not traditionally been readily forthcoming). On Monday, I saw Premier Wen Jiabao on TV shouting out orders to rescue workers at a disaster area. This (though still a bit of stagecraft) was nonetheless a far cry from the delayed and muted responses of past emergencies. The degree of openness has been amazing and hopefully marks some quantum leap in a trend towards greater openness and transparency that has been slowly taking shape here in China. The popular opinion of the government rescue response has been on the whole very positive so far.
It has been a strange week here in China and all of us in the Beijing office are a little shaken up by this overwhelming tragedy. But if there can be said to be a silver lining to any of this, it is that this devastating situation has brought out the best in people in China and abroad in myriad ways. And in this place where a blistering pace of change is the norm, circumstances have forced things to change even faster, and everyone involved has stepped up and risen to the occasion.
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Here’s the statement NRDC issued yesterday re: the Sichuan earthquake.
NRDC Statement on the Earthquake in China
May 15, 2008
The massive earthquake in China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008 devastated one of the country's most populated areas, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving hundreds of thousands in desperate need of help. NRDC China urges all concerned individuals to contribute to Sichuan earthquake relief efforts being organized by the Red Cross Society of China and other relief organizations.
NRDC China sends its deepest condolences and sympathies to those affected by this most terrible of natural disasters, and expresses the strongest support for ongoing rescue efforts by government and civil society organizations. These difficult times require that we all come together to help in any way possible. NRDC and its staff in China and the rest of the world are ready and more than willing to provide assistance as China begins the difficult work of recovery and rebuilding.
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Comments
:-) — May 18 2008 03:59 AM
From this disaster, I see the best in my people, and the hope of my country. I am so proud of China, and bless my homeland forever!