Maybe It’s Too Bad China Doesn’t Have More Wal-Marts

The Chicago Tribune reported Saturday that “China’s central government [had] ordered its wealthier provinces and cities to give immediate financial and technical aid to communities devastated by last week's earthquake.”  The article continued:

 

“[M]any victims appear to be waiting, and relying, on the central government to take care of their needs.

 

In interviews inside refugee camps, hospitals and tents outside their damaged homes, local residents said they were counting on authorities to provide them new housing, cover their medical bills, offer loans to rebuild businesses and help them get new jobs.

 

"We hold big hopes that the government will solve our problems," said Wang Yanjiang, 74, who has been living in a tent in Mianzhu Stadium since his family's apartment in nearby Hanwang collapsed. …

 

‘On the one hand, the central government's swift reaction and rescue efforts won more support from the public and improved the government's reputation among ordinary people,’ said Hu Xingdou, professor of economics at Beijing Institute of Technology. ‘On the other hand, this showed that China is still a largely government-driven and controlled society.’”

 

Hopefully, the Chinese government’s response will be better than the response of FEMA to Hurricane Katrina or, for that matter, the responses of the state and local governments in Louisiana.  While FEMA’s incompetence got most of the publicity, the actions, or lack thereof, of state and local governments in Louisiana weren’t any better.

 

In fact, some of the quickest and most effective responses to Katrina came from a source that is not available to the Chinese: American private business.  Companies like Wal-Mart, Home Depot and others saw what was coming and started to get ready before Katrina even hit.  Then when Katrina did hit, they were ready to do what American business does best:  meet needs quickly.  But this time they were not doing it to make money; they were doing it to help people.*

 

It looks like a lot of the Chinese people are counting on the government to help them.  Actually, it’s too bad they don’t have more Wal-Marts and Home Depots; they would probably be less disappointed.

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* See “Private FEMA,” The Wall Street Journal, September 8, 2005

Update [5/27/08 - 9:15 a.m.]: Corrected typographical error and adjusted spacing and font.