The Snow Will Fade, But Responsibility Won't

The Chinese have a long tradition of submitting to fate.

(Here is a current event from the English edition of the weekly Chinese newspaper at eeo.com, the economic observer online.)

Tuesday, February 12 2008


NATURAL DISASTERS
By Editorial staff

It has been a snowstorm that no-one was prepared for. From private to public, across all strata of China's infrastructure - including railway, airlines, highway, power, coal, oil, telecom and others - organizations could only respond to worsening conditions and gradually adapt relief strategies accordingly.

The storm has already hit17 provinces, causing tens of billions of yuan in economic losses, affecting more than one hundred million people, and claiming 60 lives. The people on their way home for the Chinese New Year holiday too have suffered, in Guangzhou city alone, as many as 800,000 people have been setback by the storm.

So far during the storms, more than 10 provinces have experienced limited power supply, making it even more diffiicult for disaster relief efforts. As railway transportation has broken off in many areas, coal could not be delivered to the southern provinces to fuel power stations. In return, the railway transportation system itself has been hurt, with some trains unable to start due to lack of power. These and other force multipliers are working together to worsen the disaster.

Furthermore, even if power, railways, and coal power were operating well temporarily in certain areas, further deterioration in the weather would bring disaster to them as well. Weather forecasts say that many hard-hit areas will have heavy snow over the next few days and that aviation, rail, and highways will continue to be seriously affected. In view of this, the hardest of times may still have yet to come.

That said, every winter comes to an end eventually. Though meteorology experts say China will one day face all kinds of extreme weather, we are not yet facing disasters shown in “The Day After Tomorrow”. When this winter season passes, it will become easier to fix the broken power stations, the railroads, and water supplies.

The Chinese have a long tradition of submitting to fate. Throughout China's thousands of years of civilization, with one disaster striking after another; the commoners fastened their hopes one phrases like “the bad will one day turn into the good" and “the struggle with forces of heaven brings endless pleasures”. Disasters did not herald the unraveling of society because common Chinese became impassioned by working through them and maintaining obedience to their kings. After each catastrophe, their lives returned to normal until the next one came.

Modern society can not deal with disasters in this way. In face of disaster, the public needs not only remedies, but also explanations and the ability to criticize. And taking these storms as an example, even though the government has shown strong emergency response capabilities, everyone knows that the government's response has been far from perfect.

For example, neither the disaster warning system nor emergency response measures were consistent with the Law on Emergency Responses. This reveals insufficient reserves and flawed emergency response plans by government at all levels, which usually attach more importance to aid afterwards than prevention beforehand. Another example is the coal and power shortage, a thorny problem that stems from the pricing system. Without rational pricing, the government is powerless to handle emergencies.

The spring festival migration is yet another test. The heavy snow only highlighted the existing problems caused by the urban-rural dualistic structure--apart from family and tradition, another force driving the migrants home during the festival is the fact that where they are living cannot be called home, as it’s virtually impossible for them to become lawful urban residents under the current system.

All this can be traced to the government’s executive ability and its economic and social management.

In the wake of such a disaster, the work of non-profits and charity organizations is commendable, and they have truly embodied the spirit of a “harmonious society”. But it’s the government that should play the leading role in managing public crisie and providing public services. Besides relief work, it must draw experience from disasters and learn from its mistakes.

With this in mind, the critical attitude of the public cannot be disregarded as unreasonable complaining. The snow will ultimately thaw, but what the publ