Another Way to See China

Just as the Olympics are a stage on which the world can view China, so too is the response of the Chinese government to the earthquake in Szechuan Province.  I am impressed with the openness of the government and the access that journalists have had traveling to the disaster area and getting stories and pictures out.  

I keep comparing Chinese government response to this earthquake to the hurricane response in New Orleans in the USA. The reaction of the Chinese government appears to have been swift and comprehensive:  priorities have been set, the military has been mobilized, and the highway leading north out of Beijing has been commandeered for disaster relief, so that aid could flow north and injured people could be transported south.  HU Jintao has been all over this disaster; his presence begs the comparison to Bush's ignoring New Orleans.    

For a China that thinks the West only hopes for bad things for China, there are those of us who say, "Good job China."