China Earthquake

[BobBob]

Thought I'd start a thread on this huge disaster, whose apparently impact seems to be growing by the hour.

Not much to add here beyond what the major news outlets are reporting, so we can stick to aspects closer to home.

Is anyone here personally affected by this tragedy?

I am not, but I am stunned at the apparent lack of any official reaction from the Canadian government. There's been no offer of condolences that I'm aware of, and no offer of help, even symbolic. I think this is a huge embarrassment for us.

 

[299 bloor call control.]

It's interesting looking at the difference in response in China and Myanmar/Burma. Both are authoritarian, non-democratic countries, but the outcome has been so very different. It is very dramatic seeing how efficiently China has mobilized troops and resources to the region to rescue and aid - over 100,000 troops are in the area in less than 48 hours? You can't make that happen anywhere - the death toll probably would have been a lot worse. There's still a lot to be done though, not to mention that aftershocks are continuing and residents are afraid to go back into their homes for fear of collapse.

The developing story of the cracks in dams is one to closely follow as well - there could be some serious consequences should one ever go - but the fact that all the major dams withstood the initial quake is a good one and shows that Chinese construction quality isn't as shoddy as the outside world wants people to believe.

As for the Canadian government response, the Tories have been really good at not having an official reaction to anything... except when it could be the fault of the Liberal Party of Canada... you can't blame the Liberals for an earthquake and a cyclone.

And luckily, I don't have any family in the area, though I feel for all the families who do.

 

[cruzin4u]

We do help China, by importing their products.

 

[wyliepoon]

I am not, but I am stunned at the apparent lack of any official reaction from the Canadian government. There's been no offer of condolences that I'm aware of, and no offer of help, even symbolic. I think this is a huge embarrassment for us.

The City of Toronto has offered condolences to Chongqing, which it is twinned with.

*****

There's some pretty emotional news footage of Premier Wen Jiabao visiting orphans who lost parents in the earthquake. Looks like a vice-leader of a one-party state with severe human rights violations has a soft side...

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=nsAWAbWk8yk

 

[lordmandeep]

wow, the Chinese response really embarrassed the Americans considering their response to Hurricane Katrina.

 

[Brandon716]

Its certainly a tragedy of massive proportions, and its definately great seeing a government actually do something. Such irony.

 

[billonlogan]

wow, the Chinese response really embarrassed the Americans considering their response to Hurricane Katrina.

Tell that to the many who never were rescued and an admission by the Chinese government of much higher death tolls....

BBC | China quake toll 'to top 50,000' -- The Chinese government fears more than 50,000 people may have been killed in the Sichuan quake, state media says. Correspondents say the death toll, which rose from 14,866 on Wednesday, is expected to rise further as rescue workers dig more victims out of collapsed buildings.

 

[lordmandeep]

I know but after Hurricane Katrina, I really have started to doubt the US...

 

[299 bloor call control.]

billonlogan - this disaster is different than Katrina on so many levels. First, it's an earthquake: it comes without warning. So for a response on such a scale requires a lot of preparation. The warnings for Katrina came days in advance, not to mention repeated warnings of the vulnerability of the levees breaching. The government was slow to evacuate the area and very clearly had no plan whatsoever for after the storm hit. If New Orleans was as densely populated as these areas in China, there's no doubt that the death toll would have been significantly higher.

Considering over 10-million people live in the region affected by the quake in China, the death toll, as tragic as it is, could have been a lot worse if it wasn't for the Chinese government's rapid response.

What is more interesting to note is how open the Chinese have been in this disaster, compared to those in the past. Media is generally being allowed in and is reporting what is actually happening and you even have the state-run media questioning the shoddy construction of the school buildings that collapsed and calling for heads to roll (and that's probably what will happen). When the Chinese government admits that things could be worse and ends up criticising themselves, that's something really to pay attention to.... did that happen with Katrina? No. The Bush Administration tried to pass the buck onto other agencies, covered up information, had a stunning inability to have an effective response -- that's why they should be embarrassed.

Nevertheless, both are tragedies in their own right, and there are lessons to be learned from both of them.

 

[ShonTron]

299 hits it on the head.

Yeah. The response by the Chinese is surprisingly good. (Look at Burma to see how bad it cna be under a one-party dictatorship).

As for New Orleans:

"If it keeps on raining, levee's gonna break"

"New Orleans is sinking, and I don't wanna swim"

 

[299 bloor call control.]

Cripes. I've never seen those photos before. That's just appalling. Absolutely appalling.

...oh wait, they're photoshopped. It doesn't bode well for the Bush Administration that they seem completely believable.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

horrible.

i wonder how long it will be before i encounter a jehovah's witness claiming that this is a sign of end of times. it seems like every time something bad like this happens, they're out in full force taking advantage of the situation to win converts on fear.

 

[ShonTron]

The point was this is what Bush was up to before, during, and after Katrina hit - fishing with Daddy and playing the guitar with Mark Wills.

Obviously photoshopped of course, but they say a lot.

Heckuva job.

 

[allanallan]

Earthquake in China - Where is Canada?!

As the whole world already knows, the earthquake in China caused stagging destruction and massive casualties. Latest estimates shows that the death toll could reach 50,000. Shortly after the tragedy happened, many countries around the world offered their generous help to China in many ways, financial aid, rescue teams, you name it.

However, after almost FOUR days, Canada is still close to being totally silent. The government of Canada did not offer any serious help to China in the after-quake rescue and relief efforts. And I noticed that, as the prime minister, Mr. Harper, showed little sympathy to the people in the quake-stricken area, we hardly heard anything from him.

When many civilized countries are helping the Chinese, with numerous people still suffering and dying under the ruins, their hope of survival diminishing second after second, what is beyond my imagination is that, Canada, as a country, suddenly disappeared!

I want to ask, WHERE IS CANADA?

So Stephen Harper mentioned before that he is concerned about human-rights conditions in China. I guess he was saying is that he cares about the people's lives in China. Now, how can you prove what you meant when your government is totally ignoring what is happening in China?! You and your government showed little sympathy as a human nature.

And I am wondering, why, ever since Stephen Harper came to power, the once nice relationship between Canada and China deteriorated so badly. Will a bad relationship with China serve Canada's national interest in anyway?

Canadian leaders always boast about Canadians' humanitarian spirit, their lofty moral standards, and many Canadians are proud that they are generous, caring, civilized, 'not like the Americans'. Now that there's a severe natural disaster in China, why is Canada so indifferent? Why does Canada hate China so much. What did China do to Canada?

As a Chinese Canadian, I am very very disappointed by Stephen Harper, his party, and his government. SHAME ON CANADA!

What I can assure Mr. Harper, is that, if he keep ignoring what is happening in China, keep ignoring what we as Chinese Canadians feel, I am not going to ignore him. If he fail our trust, I will NEVER EVER vote for him and his party again, simply because I can not trust a bunch of cold-blooded, indifferent primates. I am sure that most of the Chinese Canadians are on the same page with me.

I strongly urge that,

CANADA SHALL DO SOMETHING TO HELP CHINA!
CANADA SHALL HELP CHINESE PEOPLE IN THE RESCUE / RELIEF EFFORTS!

 

[Hydrogen]

It is up to China to either request or accept offers of aid. So far the Chinese government has made only one request for earthquake aid, and that request was made to Japan. China has welcomed the offers of international assistance, but has not specified whether it would accept any of them.

Clearly, the best organizations to assess the needs of earthquake victims are the Chinese civil and military authorities. It is pointless to send over unsolicited aid, and should requests for such aid come I am sure that the Canadian government will do their best to respond.

Rest assured that offers and requests are made through diplomatic channels, and not through the news media. Hand-wringing and accusations of shame don't reflect the actual situation. The Chinese government, being what it is, will do its best to meet the demands of this disaster head on. This long tradition of self-reliance should be obvious and not go unnoticed.