China Media: May 25, 2008: Quake and media.

Although this blog is not intended to discuss China media matters, it clearly relies on the Chinese media for a great deal of information. Therefore, from time to time, some thought has to be given to these matters.

In that context, this seemed worth sharing.

Peter Huston
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http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gIP_CEl8pr-91lwlIPTeqdEYKuVAD90S5GQ01

China quake inspires citizens to seek bigger role

By WILLIAM FOREMAN – 22 hours ago

PENGZHOU, China (AP) — Liu Jin was studying law in Shanghai when he heard that an earthquake tore through one of the country's poorest provinces. Moved by scenes of misery, he flew to the disaster zone thousands of miles away to help the victims.

Liu, a 22-year-old student in China's richest city, said his parents "thought the government and military could handle the disaster."

Instead, he joined tens of thousands of volunteers who may be part of a fundamental shift in the world's most populous nation.

In the wake of China's deadliest disaster in a generation, many did not wait for signals from the authoritarian government to act. With money and mobility brought by 30 years of free market reforms, Chinese mobilized spontaneously and headed for the earthquake zone.

It's a switch from the past when people stood on the sidelines waiting for dictates from the Communist Party-led government. They were mobilizing en masse and setting their own agenda — behavior that might be worrisome to a Beijing leadership that still likes to control the public.

Some volunteers organized members of their SUV clubs to deliver food and medicine over rugged roads. Others showed up at Red Cross stations to load trucks with crates of bottled water while chanting, "Go China!" Some sat in hospital rooms with recently orphaned children.

Liu and his classmates helped staff medical tents in the remote mountain town of Bailu. As he bounded over the debris of a wrecked farm house, Liu said the outpouring of volunteers was a historic moment that will change China.

"I think people will unite even better in the future," said Liu.

"We volunteers have made a lot of friends," he said. "If another disaster happens, we'll be able to organize faster in the future."

Such a comment might make the Communist Party nervous. If citizens get savvy about organizing for disasters, they can use the same skills and tools to round up support for an anti-government cause.

As neighboring South Korea and Taiwan got richer in the 1980s, their growing middle classes demanded a greater say in political affairs, helping to bring decades of authoritarian rule to an end.

But sprawling China's massive size, complex history and diverse population might make it different from its smaller Asian neighbors. The Chinese people also might be reluctant to challenge the Communist Party's monopoly on power as long as the country remains stable and continues to post spectacular economic growth.

President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao were quick to tour devastated areas, comforting and chatting with quake victims.

"The central government really cares about us," said farmer Li Sijun, 44, whose home collapsed in the town of Yingxiu. "Both Hu Jintao and the premier visited us."

However, managing a massive country like China is tricky, and simple changes or reforms can have far-reaching, unforeseen effects.

The government is allowing freer media coverage of the event — a policy in contrast with the flood in 1998 where positive state-run media coverage often seemed like a recruiting video for the military.

Early state-run media coverage of the quake was radically different, with media reports describing the chaos, carnage, suffering and devastation caused by the tremor. After a few days the focus shifted to uplifting and heroic stories, but the initial reporting had a deep influence on many of the volunteers.

"I saw people crying on TV because they couldn't get medical help," said volunteer Liu Qiang, 38, a teacher at a medical college in the northeastern province of Hubei. "After I saw that, I wanted to help."

Liu, also volunteering in the town of Bailu, said he never got involved in past disasters because the media didn't provide much information about them. He remembered the flood in 1998, but he said the government and troops didn't seem to need him.

Like many volunteers, Liu said he was proud of the way the government responded to the disaster.

But he added that the quake taught China a lesson: "We must depend on the government, but you can't ignore the power of the people."