Matt Schiavenza From the Dragon to the Apple- A Sinophile in New York

The Earthquake and the Media

I spoke with a Chinese friend yesterday who is frustrated with how slowly the Chinese media reported information about the earthquake, especially in comparison with foreign news agencies like Reuters and AP. To me, though, the Chinese media has acquitted itself rather well this time. Articles I've scanned in national dailies (Xinhua, etc.) and Kunming local papers seem comprehensive and clear enough. It's difficult imagining how coverage could be improved given the nature of the disaster.

Meanwhile, Chris and Brendan are discussing a rather sloppy AP article that clumsily tries to politicize the earthquake. Their back-and-forth is well worth reading, and in a way I think both are right: it's appropriate to inject political analysis into disaster coverage, so long as said political analysis isn't asinine. Which, unfortunately, is often the case with Western reporting on China.

Beijing's relative openness in regards to earthquake coverage isn't surprising for three reasons:

1. China was widely criticized for its attempt to cover up the extent of the SARS virus in 2002
2. China has been hit with a lot of bad publicity for its heavy-handed approach to Tibet.
3. Burma, one of China's client states, is currently under intense criticism for its bungling and duplicity in response to the cyclone.

Motives aside, Beijing's response to the earthquake has been impressive. Reporters should recall that a mere three years ago a natural disaster struck New Orleans, a major city in one of the world's wealthiest developed countries. And yet the government response was slow, clumsy, and deeply incompetent, leading to horrifying situations such as bodies lying dead in the water for three days without being claimed and buried.

Monday's earthquake struck a rural part of a largely rural country with poor infrastructure. A little perspective is needed when analyzing the efficacy of Chinese government relief operations.