Reading The Olympic Pictures: Slam Dunk On The Earthquake

It was just a brilliant piece of propaganda in the Olympic opening ceremonies, pairing Chinese NBA basketball star Yao Ming and nine-year-old Lin Hao as flag bearers for the Chinese team. Hao has been hailed for rescuing classmates during the catastrophic earthquake in Sichuan province.

I juxtapose the shots I snapped off the tube -- the little boy paired with Ming, and toting the Chinese and Olympic flags (to the gushing of the network anchors, as you can just imagine) -- with this incredible shot featured recently by the NYT illustrating how the Chinese government has been using money and pressure to buy the silence of parents who suffered the loss of their children in these poorly-constructed collapsed schools. 

China Presses Hush Money on Grieving Parents (NYT)

For more of the visual, visit BAGnewsNotes.com.

(image 1-3 NBC. image 4: Shiho Fukada for The New York Times. caption: Yu Tingyun, left, lost his daughter, Yang, in the May earthquake in southwest China, and Huang Lianfen, right, lost a nephew. Ms. Huang holds an agreement that Chinese officials want parents to sign, saying they will not hold protests about collapsed schools.)

Comments

[pfc1369]

I'm sure the families decimated by Katrina would be more than happy to be "bought off" by some money and aid from their own government.

[emsique]

I was in China during the earthquake, and fortunately was in Yunnan at the time of the quake. The emergency response was incredible, and totally put our Katrina response to shame. The army, which is trained in emergency response, was immediately mobilized, and there was a huge outpouring of public help, with millions being donated to the victims.

That said, the fact remains that local government corruption is a way of life throughout the country. Bribes are the way to do business. Shoddy buildings were not the result of bad building codes, but rather codes not enforced. Lots of money changed hands, and thousands died unnecessarily. It appears that there will be no one brought to justice for these sickening acts. The fact remains that there are countless more shabby buildings, and another earthquake in a different area will result in the same loss of life.

[chinationreport]

China is going to spend billions to rebuild 100 times the size of New Orleans in the quake zone. All homeless people have moved into either tents, shelters or temporary housing. Massive projects are planned to build new eco-friendly, quake-proof cities for millions of people. The money they will pay to each individual for loss of life is separate from insurance company payment. If insured, people would get more compensation through private insurance. The money mentioned for each individual is paid by the government. And they all get free housing...

Upon announcing the rebuilding budget for quake zone, Chinese premier ordered to cut government spending in other public sectors to fund for quake zone rebuild.

Loss of lives is a terrible tragedy. But considering what has happened, they could not have done much better.

If you want to help, you are welcome to do something constructive.

http://www.chinationreport.com/

[rh654]

So the parents of those children would be better off if they got a few hundred thousand dollars? Their grief would be any less if they could afford a new car or a better apartment?

While yes, the Chinese government should have ensured the schools were better built - what they should do is ensure that any parent who lost a child can have another child under the one child policy. Nothing can replace a child but that would perhaps be of more value than some more money.

Besides Michael a few things:
1) What the hell were the Chinese supposed to do with the opening ceremonies - perhaps cancel them, scale them back after they have already spent the money and the time getting everything ready? That would be just insane and wouldn't do anything for the parents.

2) Before you cast stones at China - we haven't taken very good care of our own folks from Katrina and other incidents.

[plebeianswillrevolt]

America does not compare that well against China's position on hunam rights. Don't we torture, evesdrop, neglect poor, sick and hungry, how did we do in Kartina. The push against China is hypocritical.

[asnevitt]

I tend to agree, which is why I found the calls for Bush to speak out about Chinese human rights violations to be unsavory. I actually think it undermines real calls for human rights.

That said, I think in a forum such as this, we can push against both U.S. and Chinese human rights violations. Otherwise we are silently complicit. And the lavish embrace of the propaganda at the Chinese Olympics needs to called out for what it is: dollars speaking louder than the cries of human suffering.

[3dtrix]

Bush has no credibility on any subject whatsoever - he is the living embodiment of reaping what you have sown.