Two foreign search-and-rescue workers and their four sniffer dogs picked over
the rubble left by China’s earthquake in search of bodies. They were working
almost side by side with Chinese teams.
The Foreign Ministry appealed to the international community for tents. The
Commerce Minister went out of his way to thank foreign companies for
millions of dollars of donations. Speaking on national television he told
Chinese that charges of foreign miserliness were false.
Tens of millions of Chinese sat gripped by moment-by-moment coverage of the
unfolding disaster on state-run television. The stodgy evening news
broadcast was replaced by 24-hour scenes of rescues, of paratroops jumping
into inaccessible villages, of weeping relatives and of ragged shocked
survivors. These scenes are unprecedented in China.
The welcome by the ruling Communist Party to international participation is a
first. Its willingness to allow people access to a wealth of detail about
events breaking in their country is also unusual.
Not since the spring of 1989, when state media offered blow-by-blow reports of
the student demonstrations complete with pictures of a hunger strike in
Tiananmen Square, has the population of China been trusted with so much
information.
Never have China’s secretive Communist rulers allowed foreign aid workers such
access to help with disaster relief. One Belgian group said that it took
just 90 minutes — rather than the more usual several days — to obtain a visa
to bring in tents for the homeless. The Signi Dutch search-and-rescue team
brought their dogs straight through Customs. A team of British specialists
in disaster medical care arrive this weekend.
Only a month ago China was in defensive mode. After a broadside of
international criticism over its handling of deadly riots in Tibet, the
Government invoked a wave of nationalist sentiment and appeared to be
encouraging its people to snarl at the West.
Most emotive was the Olympic torch relay when the sight of burly Chinese
security guards in blue tracksuits around the flame aroused widespread
criticism. Tussles in capital after capital between police protecting the
torch and pro-Tibet protesters sparked outrage in China. Angry Chinese
threatened to boycott French supermarkets and CNN became a target of
China-wide fury.
The earthquake disaster in one of the poorest mountainous corners of
southwestern Sichuan province has, though, drawn international sympathy. It
has also evoked surprise at this burst of openness by a government renowned
for closing off swaths of the internet, for locking up critics and censoring
its media.
Some have wondered whether a decision by Wen Jiabao, the Prime Minister, to
fly to the earthquake-devastated area within two hours signals a shift in
the way that the ruling party responds.
Chinese were moved by the sight of a grim Mr Wen standing in the rain beside
the rubble of fallen schools and crying out to trapped children: “This is
Grandpa Wen Jiabao. Children, you’ve got to hold on!” His four-day visit to
some of the worst-hit areas — by train, by helicopter, by boat and on foot —
brought comfort to the survivors and inspired a wave of volunteers to race
from all over the country to offer their help. That, too, was a sight never
before seen in China.
The sight of the urban middle classes queueing in cities from Shanghai to
Beijing to Guangzhou to offer donations that have added up so far to more
than $1.5 billion (£750 million) is one that is likely to be repeated. One
Western diplomat said: “People have been worrying about the selfishness of
their society obsessed with making money. They are rejoicing now that in
their new-found prosperity they can afford to be altruistic and to be a part
of the international community.”
Mr Wen behaved like a politician in any democracy. The question remains
whether shedding tears at the destruction and death, hugging schoolgirls,
comforting distraught mothers and kissing babies is a sign of fundamental
change.
The party has given no indication that the openness of the past 12 days could
lead to any real shift in policy or the introduction of policies or laws to
enshrine these changes. Already the media are being reined in as television
programmes move from hours of bad news about devastation and back to the
usual diet of good news and the party’s successes.
It has been relatively easy for China’s rulers to allow exceptional openness
about such an exceptional disaster. They could be confident that the reports
would follow a single line. Now the question must be whether they will allow
any contradictory reporting and real freedom of expression.
One young Chinese student said: “I haven’t seen the Government discuss
prevention of such disasters and their mistakes. We have only seen reports
of the success in combating the earthquake. We need to discuss the problems
too.”
That, however, may be a step too far. The party has not forgotten the lessons
of the few days of press freedom that one of its leaders announced to
leading Chinese journalists in late May 1989, and which died with the June 4
crackdown in Tiananmen Square. Dai Qing, a prominent journalist and author
who witnessed those events, told The Times: “There has been no progress in
20 years. We still have no media law and all real news and editorials are
controlled by the party.
“Will they allow discussion of human error as well as natural disaster? Not a
single line on this aspect of the earthquake has been allowed. Without a
media law there can be no real supervision by the media.”
Long march
The number of volunteers involved in the relief effort has climbed to 100,000,
almost rivalling the number of PLA soldiers in the region, which peaked at
140,000 and is now declining
Volunteers from Beijing had to drive 1,600km (1,000 miles) from Beijing to the
disaster area, a 24-hour journey
China's Ministry of Defence claimed that troops were dispatched within 14
minutes of the earthquake hitting but it took two days for soldiers to reach
some of the worst-hit towns and villages
Japan, Russia, South Korea and Singapore have all contributed search and
rescue teams, despite initial resistance from Beijing
The People's Liberation Army, received its biggest budget in five years in
2007 - about £30billion - although much of the money went towards
upgrading its missile systems
Sources: Times archives
