China Media Project translates an op-ed from the Yanzhao Metropolis Daily which argues that
China needs more input from civil society groups to effectively deal with crises like the current snow emergency:
But there are nevertheless regrettable aspects of this type of disaster response. Owing to [the government’s] limited power and range of vision in dealing with the disaster, for example, only broad plans for relief were drawn up, and many people caught up in the disaster were unable to receive effective assistance. Additionally, owing to a bureaucratic mindset and formalistic attitude, many initiatives at the local and regional government levels were too late, too weak, too simplistic or simply stopped short of action.
We can see that basically our traditional method of dealing with disasters remains mired in a mode of “strong government, weak society” (强政府－弱社会). We have only the top-down vertical lines of government action and lack the right-left, horizontal lines of civic action. This means we cannot create an effective grid for dealing with emergency situations. As a result, the scope of effective action is limited and the “quality” of emergency response is hit-and-miss.
