In the International Herald Tribune, Howard French looks at the effectiveness and efficiency of the Chinese earthquake relief effort:
The trucks roll in convoys organized by place of origin. They might be carrying cement from Hubei, or tents from Shandong, or heavy equipment from Shanghai. Virtually every province has gotten into the act, but there is more to it than merely pitching in: One already detects a spirit of competition to see who can help the most.
The actions of individuals and small groups have been no less impressive, and have undoubted long-lasting, if still hard to define consequences for the country’s future. There is no great tradition of civic activism in post-revolutionary China, and this is not accident. The Communist Party has systematically blocked free association, and it has undoubtedly looked at the outpouring of public relief volunteerism with a mixture of pleasure and dread.
The state has done a remarkably nimble job of transforming this activism into a patriotic movement, replete both with the proliferation of “I love China” T-shirts and echoes of historic outpourings of nationalism in the past. The fact remains, though, that millions of Chinese have found ways to get involved, and for most, the reflex began at home and not with the authorities.
