China’s Earthquake Gets Political
Monday’s 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan province has killed, at last official count, almost 29,000. Perhaps as many as 20,000 are still trapped in rubble, and Beijing has estimated that the death toll will eventually exceed 50,000. The quake has injured countless more and devastated an important region of the country. But what will the disaster do to China’s increasingly fragile political system?
The connection between natural and human events is embedded firmly in the Chinese psyche and was reinforced when Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic, died less than two months after the Tangshan quake of July 1976 in which at least 240,000 people perished. So it was no surprise that Chinese have begun to connect Monday’s calamity with impending political change. For some of them, the disaster was a sign that the Communist Party had lost the Mandate of Heaven and would therefore fall soon. “The Gods Reprimanded the Chinese People?” asked one blogger last week. People wonder, because the first few months of this year have brought two other horrible events, an unusual snow storm that blanketed much of the country in January and February and a deadly train collision in April.
The atheistic Communist Party, obsessed with its own survival, worries about the superstitions of the Chinese people. It is no coincidence, for instance, that Beijing has scheduled the opening ceremony for this summer’s Olympics to begin at the eighth minute of the eighth hour past noon of the eighth day of August, the eighth month of the year 2008. Government officials connected the Summer Games to auspicious number eight, but since Monday people have turned Chinese-style numerology against the country’s leaders. The quake, people say, struck China on the 88th day before that ceremony is supposed to begin. Moreover, there is a widely circulating text message that ties the dates of Monday’s disaster, the recent Tibetan riots, the Olympics, and the great snowstorm to the same number. For many Chinese, eight has taken on a dark meaning this year.
Yet 2008 is by no means over. “The worst might be yet to come,” says Chen Wei, who runs a website in Beijing, referring to the symbolism of the five Fuwa, the mascots for the Summer Games. Four of the cute creatures have already been linked to disasters that occurred this year (Jingjing, the panda Fuwa, is thought to represent the quake because of that animal’s Sichuan habitat). According to many, Beibei, a sturgeon, now foretells one more horrible event before the Olympics begin.
China does not need another tragedy in 2008, but, even if one occurs, it’s not clear that this year would be appreciably worse than any other in the last decade. The quake, although horrific, is just the latest in a series of calamities that has befallen the Chinese in recent years. The significance of Monday’s cataclysmic event, however, is that it may end up changing the mood of the country at a crucial moment in its development. For example, some Chinese have become indignant in the last few days as the central government published triumphant photos of the Olympic torch’s arrival in Fujian province for the nationwide relay while rescuers desperately fought to save lives in Sichuan. And despite the near universal pride in the Summer Games, there have been calls for Beijing to declare a moratorium to the relay and even to cancel it outright. Officials had originally refused to change their plans because “the earthquake-stricken area is not on the route of the torch relay,” but they later acceded to popular demand by toning down the celebrations. The result is that the relay in Jiangxi province has been more somber , yet the government still plans to bring the torch to devastated Sichuan in the middle of next month. The quake, therefore, shows that Beijing officials have yet to understand the depth of feeling among the Chinese people.
The failure to stop the torch relay exposes a wider gap between the people and their government and is another sign that the country’s one-party system is having difficulty keeping up with a rapidly modernizing society. In the early days of the People’s Republic, China’s people, for various reasons, did not question their leaders. For example, thirty or so million died in the Great Leap Forward without protest against Mao Zedong’s absurd policies. Today, in a very different China, that’s no longer true.
As the shock wears off, survivors are beginning to realize that the quake did not kill their wives, husbands, parents, and children; it was their government. Their government did not write or enforce building codes appropriate for an earthquake zone, did not retrofit unsafe structures, did not prevent shoddy construction, and did not accept help from the international community when it was offered and could have done some good.
The Communist Party, of course, did not cause the quake, but it is now being held responsible — and properly so — for deaths that should never have occurred. And if the Chinese people are speaking up now, it is because they have seen recent calamities that were caused or made worse by the government’s grave policy mistakes or by the flaws inherent in communism, such as secrecy, corruption, unaccountability, and disregard for human life. As a result, the Chinese populace has become more demanding. As Bi Kaiwei, who lost his daughter in a school collapse in Sichuan on Monday, said, “The people responsible have to be held accountable.”
As a result of mounting public anger over the quake, the greatest challenge for Beijing at this point is not saving lives — which it has largely failed to do — but to save itself. The weeks and months ahead will be difficult for Chinese leaders as they get ready for the Olympics — and as they dig themselves out of a disaster that they themselves helped to create.
Gordon G. Chang is the author of The Coming Collapse of China.
The sturgeon surely refers to the Yangze River and the 3 Gorges Dam, does it not?
What happens when it, also the result of Communist vain, corruption, and exploitation of the poor, goes?
The chinese government has responded fast to the disaster and is doing all it can to save lives, I do not appreciate ppl making judgements when they don’t know the full story.
And Rick, atm china is more capitalist than communist -_-
I think it’s ironic that ppl label the chinese government vain and corrupt when the US government is just as bad. Would you not call sending hundreds of thousands of troops to fight a nonexistent war absolutely despicable? Where are those WOD again?
All that blood shed for oil and money
The chinese government has responded fast to the disaster and is doing all it can to save lives, I do not appreciate ppl making judgements when they don’t know the full story.
And Rick, atm china is more capitalist than communist -_-
I think it’s ironic that ppl label the chinese government vain and corrupt when the US government is just as bad. Would you not call sending hundreds of thousands of troops to fight a nonexistent war absolutely despicable? Where are those WOD again?
All that blood shed for oil and money
The Chinese government is doomed to collapse into rival warlord led factions. It is only a question of when. That is China’s history and its destiny.
Lets all be realistic. “ALL” governments fail their people in times of great crisis, simply because “ALL” people want immediate solutions, immediately or sooner & they want to be able to say, “this should ‘never’ have happened.”
One cannot compare the response of one govt to that of another. What one can do is look at the responses of ‘a’ govt & determine where it failed to respond in a timely manner or w/ adequate resources. On those points, just as the American govt failed the people of New Orleans, so too has China fail the people of the Sichuan province, etc.
Perhaps the big difference is, the Sichuan province govt asked for help. The New Orleans govt asked & then the state govt actually rejected or stalled approving actions of some help initially offered. Local govt actually failed to utilize its own resources to relocate people, yet still used that situation to politically attack the president. The people of New Orleans had choices, but they “gambled” (as usual), that they would get away with no harm. The people of the Sichuan province had no such option.
All of the naysayers are pathetic. Crisis happens whether we want it to or not. And in crisis, people sometimes fail to response as those looking on from a removed perspective, or afterward, “think” the govt &/or others should have responded. Monday morning quarter-backing has become enshrined as a right of the people, even when its logic is misplaced & based on wishful thinking rather than reality.
The Chinese govt problem is, they cannot subdue what the people think anymore. In America the federal govt was vilified by the media with glee. That led to a national mood. In China, it is the people who developed the mood, all on their own. Their mood is based on what they see as central govt failures to adequately respond & with views of a govt more worried about looking good for their Olympic plans, rather than the disaster.
This is b******t. From what i see, the Chinese people are handling the issue a lot better than the Americans did when hurricane Katrina hit. Everyone has been very cooperative. You don’t see people looting stores and carrying guns ready to shoot whoever comes close to them.
What you seem to think are a bunch of incompetent communists seem to be great at making up stuff, because the overwhelming impression by Chinese people everywhere is that the response has been the best possible out of incredibly difficult circumstances. Oh I guess we Chinese are just too thick we always fall for it. Don’t listen to me, I’m just a brainwashed Chinese person, listen to the western media… oh but wait they seem to agree with me. Don’t mind us, we’ll be donating and helping every way we can. The rest of you can talk all you want. I’m glad you can find a silver lining in the cloud of 30,000 people’s death.
This article is pathetic. It disgusts me down to the bone! Not only has the Chinese government scaled-down the scale of the torch relay, the whole country, as of today, will mourn for 3 days (yes, that includes halting the torch relay, as well as all other entertainment activities). I really think we should put your bull shit politics aside and look at the facts here: the Chinese people have united together throughout this disaster, aiding another. People all over the world have donated what little support they can, in hopes of contributing to the situation. And YOU? Cut your imcompetent crap!
Greetings from Singapore. I wonder if I speak for anyone else. I know that human suffering transcend race and ethnicity. For for some reasons, I have no sympathy for the Chinese right now. I suspect this is because their people’s behavior and displayed blinded nationalism all over the world over the recent olympic relay fiasco. My district just had a recent fund drive for the disaster victim. Very few people donate to the Chinese, but more to Myanmar.
The Chinese claim of rescue is just a total nuisance and fake. It is just a propaganda to fool the world. The public mourning impose by the Government is just the usual showpiece. If they are really concern about the pligth of people and human life, why are they blocking the humanatarian aid to Burma by international community.
This is just a propaganda. Some young soldiers carrying this red flag. What is this??? Cheap Chinese Communist ploy to used the natural disaster to strengthen leadership hold on power.
This is total bullshit.
Chinese masses are fool. This is the perfect time to kiss the Communist regime good bye. Corruption, brutality, repression, exploitation and incompetency is what this regime has given.
Chinese should now stand up and should hold their future and destiny in their hand. Politburo is weak now, its time people give a shake to this regime.
You’re never satisfied with whatever the Chinese government do,just because its Party has the name “Communist”.However,it’s just a name!I wonder if there is another government that could do as good as the Chinese govn do.Now the whole China is more united than ever.They have great teachers that prevented their students from death but threw themselves into heaven.They have great people that regarded all survivors and victims as their own raletives.It’s a pity that you’re forbidden from the reality,or you’re fear of facing it. And,I do think it’s moral not to have bad words on other nations especilly the really great ones.
Just say what ever you want to say. We chinese know this world and our own future better.Maybe we don’t really agree with communism,but we support our government firmly.It’s a pity to see that you are cheated by your own prejudice and ignorant.All your subjective abuse only make us more unified.
sorry ingorance~!
Every Chinese try their best to donate and help.We students standed in our campus and mourn for all the people died in this disaster with sadness this afternoon.What have done for those people who is surfering now.Shame on your hypocrisy and evil.
chinese college student — everyone feels compassion for the victims of this natural tragedy. We sincerely mourn with you and share your sadness for the great loss of life.
We don’t care if you have a communist or capitalist government, that’s the choice of your people — if you don’t like your government, have another revolution at the ballot box or otherwise or keep the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
That said, the photographs I saw of the earthquake looked like no one put reinforcing steel in any of the concrete buildings that collapsed. This is a failure of the building codes, inspectors or I will put to you – outright corruption on the part of CCP government officials who were only concerned with lining their own pockets. Earthquakes are nothing new to China and this isn’t exactly rocket science to shore up buildings for earthquakes.
In China, you have only the CCP to blame, there is no other party that shares power. This is the same party that is responsible for the deaths of up to 80 million people, that still imprisons people for their beliefs (Falun Gong practitioners are STILL arrested for peacefully meditating) and that controls all the media.
I would suggest holding the CCP to the same standards Falun Gong practitioners hold themselves: Truth – Compassion – Tolerance.
If you do this, you will understand why many people consider the CCP to be wicked.
in some people’s eyes,whatever chinese govn do are wrong !
give more love to the people ok ?
To Raputin:
Singapore is ruled by Chinese. So get ur indian ass outta there!!!
Chinese goon is rule China now. We want better ruling in China, not killers like now.
CCP killers let build shoddy concrete no reinforced. This same with power pole concrete no reinforce breaking under snow and ice. Many die also.
Please be helping China bring better rule to people. China people deserving better.
Hey, be objective, OK? And watch your mouth
The “Zhin Wei” is pretending to be Chinese.They don’t have the word Zhin in Chinese,I’m sure.
Why don’t you guys try some Falun Gong? It’s fantastic! Their boss Lee will collect your money and the rest of them teach you to burn yourself to heaven.It’s a perfect way to get close to gods,and is quite cheap.
But it’s wrong of you claiming every death in China related to the CCP.After the earthquake,Chinese people are more likely to be gratful,not like western(white) people just blaming ,blaming and blaming.
Naural disaster is inevitable. Don’t get it political. Whether you like it or not, China is getting prosperous and stronger. All Chinese are closely united in times of adversity. If you want to know more about the real China, why not come and see with your own eyes? Seeing is believing, unless you don’t believe your own eyes.
We are grateful for the donations coming from different parts of the world and for those who are concerned.
IT’S GREAT THAT THE U.S. WANTS TO HELP BUT WHY ARE WE SO QUICK TO ASSIST OTHERS (TSUNAMI VICTIMS, CHINA EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS), BUT NEGLECT OUR OWN (KATRINA)?
Mr Chang, being a Chinese, I wondered what make you write what you’ve written above when a large Chinese population are suffering, and people all over the world who have good conscience are desperately try to help? Anyone who has common sense should realize that one can’t solely blame the government for what the 7.9 earthquake brings. CHINA IS A GREAT COUNTRY WITH GREAT CONTRIBUTION TO HUMAN CIVILIZATION.CHINESE PEOPLES’ LIVES ARE GETTING BETTER EVERYDAY ALTHOUGH WE ARE FAR FROM PERFECT. What have you done to help? If there is stream of Chinese blood in your body, I feel shamed for you!