Wen shows china can care

Since an earthquake flattened a swathe of rural Sichuan province on Monday, killing more than 13,000 people, the Government in Beijing has mounted an aggressive rescue effort, dispatching tens of thousands of troops and promptly sending Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to the disaster zone, accompanied by reporters. With a hard hat on his head and a bullhorn in hand, he ducked into the wreckage of a hospital where scores of people were buried and shouted: “Hang on a bit longer. The troops are rescuing you.” Throughout the day, the images of Wen directing disaster relief officials and comforting the injured dominated the airwaves.

With images of the calamitous cyclone in Myanmar still fresh — and the military Government’s languid, xenophobic response earning it international scorn — China’s Communist Party leaders are keenly aware that their approach to the earthquake will be closely watched at home and abroad. And after two bruising months of criticism from the West over its handling of Tibetan unrest, the Government can ill afford another round of criticism as it prepares to host the Olympic Games in August.

In its zigzagging pursuit of a more nimble and effective form of authoritarian rule, China may be having a defining moment. Its harsh crackdown on discontented Tibetans bore the hallmarks of Beijing’s hardline impulses. But its decision to scale back the elaborate domestic leg of the Olympic torch relay — after a flood of Internet protests calling it insensitive — is a sign that officials are not deaf to public sentiment.

Shi Anbin, a professor of media studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said he thought the international uproar after the crackdown in Tibet was having an impact on Communist Party leaders. “My judgment is that the Government has drawn some lessons from negative feedback,” he said. “I think it reflects a trend of Chinese openness and reform.”

So far, that approach appears to be paying off. Commentary on Chinese websites and in chat rooms has been full of praise for the Government’s emergency response. On Tianya, a popular forum where anti-government postings sometimes find a home, users have been quick to shout down those who criticise Wen and the military’s delay in reaching some quake victims. “Those who can only do mouth work please shut up at this key moment,” said one posting.

Another writer praised the People’s Liberation Army, saying: “Whenever there’s a crisis, they’re the ones on the frontline. ”

Chinese websites remain heavily censored, and a brief flirtation with openness and responsiveness does not mean that China is headed toward Western-style democracy. On the contrary, if China manages to handle a big natural disaster better than the United States handled Hurricane Katrina, the achievement could underscore Beijing’s contention that its largely nonideological brand of authoritarianism can deliver good government as well as fast growth.

Dali Yang, the director of the East Asian Institute in Singapore, said the Government might have come to the realisation that openness and accountability could bolster its legitimacy and counter growing anger over corruption, rising inflation and the disparity between the urban rich and the rural poor.

“I think their response to this disaster shows they can act, and they can care,” he said.

The toll climbed to nearly 15,000

•Around 25,000 are still buried in rubble

• 50,000 troops sent as search for survivours quickens

• Stock market shakes off worries

• Sympathy for China muffles criticism over Tibet

• Cost could reach $20 bn, says disaster modelling firm

• China has asked space agencies across the world including the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for help in obtaining quake-related satellite data, for aiding relief operations in the country