Viewpoints Has the Sichuan Earthquake changed the West’s views on China? | Has the Sichuan Earthquake changed the West’s views on China? |
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| Viewpoints | |
| Thursday, 05 June 2008 | |
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After the PR storm that China endured in the months prior to the Sichuan Earthquake, the media shifted away from politics and sport towards the natural disaster that left thousands dead and millions homeless. In the aftermath, has the earthquake changed the views of the West towards China, and if so, in what way? As a British born Chinese, my view is rather skewed, as I will always have a natural compassion for China. Nevertheless, much of the British public, know little, if anything about China. This recent period has seen China dominate world news, and opinions are forged by what is seen on the television and read in the newspapers. After the situation in Tibet and the Olympic Torch relay, many, when thinking about China, would immediately relate to the human rights records and conjure up images of protestors being manhandled away from the Olympic torch by blue-uniformed henchmen. China is a hard nation to grasp for the average British person. The nation is way ‘over there,' with different conventions, whilst the only time we hear of ‘them' are in negative news reports. China is at fault for this as well, their introvert nature contributing to this enigmatic aura. One example was the SARS outbreak, where most Chinese officials deemed it necessary to cover up the epidemic to project a nation of stability rather than project the truthful image of a nation coping with disaster. It's safe to say that China's image on the world stage is not by any means that of a PR darling. The shocking images of a grief-stricken China reduced to rubble have definitely changed the West's views on the nation, but in what way is the interesting question. One post on a BBC website believed that the West is "impressed with the rapid response, and the ability of the Chinese to manage the logistics of the rescue operations without delays. It shows that China is not the primitive, disorganized and divided country she once was. It shows that the armed forces, the backbone of the rescue effort is organized and disciplined and human (not robots)." This view is most likely that of the majority of the British public, where efficiency in response and a willingness to share their woes has created a sense of humanity in the Chinese. Whilst people find it hard to relate to a huge superpower of a country everyone could identity with human suffering. The earthquake has hopefully dispelled images of China as a faceless country with the world's largest population, and instead made it easier for the public to empathise with the Chinese people. In addition, the British public may realise that China is not a backwards country and that it is ready to tackle any disaster. Unlike the mishandling of Hurricane Katrina by the government and the Burmese junta's lack of response to the cyclone, China has been extremely efficient and willing in its response, both short-term and long-term, to the earthquake. The Chinese government has shown that it has the capacity to negotiate problems in a fashion equalling or bettering that of the West, a far cry from the abysmal response to the Tangshan earthquake in 1976. There is, however, another take on the how the West's view has been changed in light of the earthquake. Being in the West and living amongst relative prosperity and social security, the images of China on our television screens as well as the statistics we read are far removed from the experiences of Western people. The scale of the disaster as well as the pictures of an underdeveloped China, may have contributed to a picture of China as not the superpower that the media portrays it to be. One BBC post reads: "Hopefully some Western fear mongers will realize that much of China is still quite poor, and underdeveloped, and this is why the death toll and building collapses were so pervasive and devastating. California would not have this kind of death toll from an earthquake because it can afford very strict standards. Therefore, it is not necessary for Western leaders to go on and on about how China is about ready to crush 'us', stoke up fear, etc." Whilst an interesting point, I don't believe this is a change in view, as many British people already view China as still underdeveloped compared to the West in some aspects.In other aspects, such as the military, however, it is more developed. This is demonstrated bythe army's mass mobilisation in the rescue effort. The West has a new found empathy for China and its people and they have discovered a new positive and humane side of the Chinese people. Hopefully, such a mutual respect and appreciation between the West and China will continue. To do so, China must transfer such openness and participation into foreign affairs on a greater scale as there are many potential political obstacles that may reverse Western opinion. Neverthless, Chinese people are no longer viewed as faceless robots from ‘over there' and are seen as humans with problems that Western people also have; one positive outcome amidst such tragedy. Leon Lau Do you agree with any of the views given? How do British-Chinese perceive China from the news reporting on the earthquake? |
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