How a tragedy tested Chinese character

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By Patrice C. McMahon (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-02 07:40

On the first day of class, a graduate student from Xi'an Jiaotong University reminded me that, especially in China, "there are always two sides to a coin."

Experiencing China's May 12 earthquake while living in Xi'an, Shaanxi province just north of the earthquake's epicenter in Sichuan with our two daughters, we have indeed seen both sides of what is beginning to be called China's 5/12 disaster coin.

When the earthquake happened, we quickly compared it to our natural disaster reference point - Hurricane Katrina, but within a day we realized that disaster and the Chinese response was quite unlike anything that we had seen in the US.

On television, in newspapers and through the Internet, we've learned about the extent of the destruction, and the statistics are horrific - as of this writing, over 69,000 confirmed dead, some 18,400 still missing, over 374,000 injured and more than 40 million displaced.

Given that more than one-third of the country's population lives on about two dollars a day, responding to this level of death and destruction might seem daunting, if not impossible.

Evidently not for China and certainly not for Chinese people, who have cultivated a way of life based on overcoming the great many challenges they have faced over their long history.

While not diminishing the human suffering stemming from this epic disaster, we have been impressed by the response of key sectors of the Chinese nation; namely, the central government, the growing non-governmental organization (NGO) sector, and the Chinese public, all of which are confronting this challenge with an admirable sense of purpose and unity.

While I am sure that Western newspapers have covered the destruction in great detail and have surely complimented the Chinese government for its rapid, serious response, the underlying story of the triumph of human character is, as always, is more difficult to capture.

The story behind the statistics is the impact that this event has had on galvanizing the "Chinese street", where concern and resolve are palpable.

While people are transfixed by images from the disaster area that are broadcast on a variety of media, there seems to be little desperation or hopelessness. Instead, there is a "roll up the sleeves and get to work" determination, and surprisingly, deep gratitude at the outpouring of outside support.

When we turn off the television and discuss what we as a family have learned from the events of the last several weeks, we find ourselves marveling at how the Chinese are confidently but quietly dealing with this unprecedented tragedy - a disaster that continues with every aftershock, mudslide and potential flood.

It seems like every school, organization and business is raising money for Sichuan, and young people all over the country are out in the streets looking for donations or giving blood at the many mobile blood vans that are out in full force.

Those who cannot give, like the 75-year-old woman from Sichuan, are volunteering or giving in other ways. A tear- evoking example is in the Sichuan policewoman with a newborn child who was nursing multiple infants whose mothers were either killed in the quake or who are too traumatized to care for their children.

The deeply felt national concern over the fate of affected children has been moving. On May 22, there were 1,697 orphans, but on June 24, the number dropped to 558; and rest assured, there are more people willing to adopt than there are orphans from Sichuan.

And then there are the heartbreaking, yet inspiring stories told by people who have lost the most; a man who lost his wife and daughter but thanked everyone who has helped him deal with his loss; or parents who wrote in the local paper that as sad as they are that their only son was lost, they are grateful that one of his teachers was so devoted to her class that she ran back into the school to save more children.

She was found pinned underneath the school but holding two of her students. Or the parents who respond to the death of their only child by expressing gratitude for his six years of joy that they had with him.

Although parents and the country as a whole mourn their losses, life goes on in China at its normal breakneck pace. Children in Sichuan are back in school and high school graduates are taking their college entrance exams in tents. Relief efforts are already transitioning to reconstruction.

Over 100,000 thousand people in uniform remain deployed throughout the region to move boulders, clear clogged lakes and carry in food, water and other emergency supplies despite the instability caused by aftershocks and flooding in the region.

On the international front, the government's openness to this scale of this disaster resulted in an unprecedented outpouring of aid, with relief assistance coming from more than 40 countries.

China's 5/12 has also helped bring Taiwan and the mainland closer than they have ever been, with China's president noting how moved he was by the "brotherly love and care" shown by the Taiwan compatriots. Similarly, relief efforts have also created an opportunity for China and Japan to reexamine their age-old conflicts.

Domestically, the earthquake may also prove to be a watershed event for the Chinese government, which has displayed unprecedented openness and honesty concerning the events, the extent of devastation and the difficulties ahead.

It has also opened the door to cooperation between the government and non-governmental relief and aid organizations. China has long hoped to develop this sector more fully and the scope of this disaster seems to have provided the stimulus the government needed to more fully engage this important sector.

If a more robust NGO sector is an eventual outcome of this tragedy, it is quite likely that it will lead to a higher quality of life for all Chinese.

So, while no country or person ever welcomes tragedy, especially something of this magnitude, the earthquake has taught us a great deal about China's true character and its people's resilience. It has also reminded us that the other side of even a dark coin may hold the promise of a brighter future.

The author is an American professor of International relations at Xi'an Jiaotong University

(China Daily 07/02/2008 page9)