[Zhang Qi is currently a PH.D student at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences]

     

Just how powerful can an 8.0 magnitude earthquake be?

     

Scientists have described the earthquake as being as devastating as hundreds of nuclear explosions, but people in China who witnessed and suffered the aftermath of the Wenchuan earthquake believe that the natural disaster has had a much more profound social impact than the physical damage it has caused. As buildings fell and lives were taken, the Middle Kingdom has changed in almost every way imaginable. Such is seen in the headlines of the Chinese media:

     

    "A new China emerges from the earthquake"

    "Wenchuan quake recasts the West's view of China"

    "Wenchuan earthquake awakens civil society"

    "Earthquake helps China rebuild its image"

    "Earthquake releases tremendous civil force"

    "Chinese media's earthquake"

    "Earthquake not an excuse for jerry-built projects"

    …

     

But can the power of the earthquake really bring change to China?

     

It is a question yet to be answered. If the earthquake has truly had a massive social impact, how long can it last? Can the shock of the earthquake continue to boost China's national morale during and after the post-disaster recovery? And will the unity among Chinese people throughout the disaster eventually become a driving force that will lead to a stronger political institution?

     

Although there are no easy answers to these questions, the light of hope does exist. On the debris of the destroyed towns and villages grows China's opportunity to change and revitalize. Over 40 billion people all over the world have donated to the victims of the earthquake. Chinese premier Wen Jiabao flew to the quake zone immediately after the first wave hit Sichuan and volunteers and NGOs participated broadly in relief efforts. Both Chinese and foreign reporters were allowed access to the frontline of the earthquake, where they, together with the Chinese internet community, have ensured efficiency and transparency in the relief effort. For the first time, the online community has been recognized by the authorities as mainstream media, a laurel granted previously only to state news agencies. Also for the first time in its history, the P.R.C. national flag flew half-mast to mourn for civilian victims instead of for the death of a political leader. "The national flag soars high by flying half-mast", a Chinese blogger writes.

     

While the quake brought the Chinese government applause, it also revealed problems, challenges, and perhaps to a larger extent, opportunities. For example, the authorities have gradually realized that they should benefit rather than be threatened by civil society organizations. A college student in Sichuan helped to locate a landing ground for a rescue helicopter through the same online forums once seen by the government as dangerous to China's social stability. The public's natural distrust of the government has been reduced by the participation of civil society organizations since such organizations significantly increase social capital and strengthen social coherence. On the other hand however, the involvement of civil society in the decision making process will necessarily pressure the administration into becoming more transparent and responsive to public inquiries. Unfortunately, as an important component of good governance, responsiveness is not something that is familiar to many Chinese officials. Officials are still trying to navigate their way through civil society's increasing demand for open information and individual rights. It is now clear to policymakers in China that if they do not take the initiative to lift the restrictions on civil society organizations and create ample room for their activities, the government will bear the risk of losing its legitimacy.

     

Another lesson that Chinese politicians have learned from the earthquake is that instead of jeopardizing social harmony, open information is actually a stabilizing factor—it impedes the flow of rumors. The Tibet incident in March of this year has been an expensive lesson for officials in Lhasa and Beijing, and has proved that information blockade is harmful to both the government and the people. With the earthquake, the state media has largely overcome its long existing, unspoken rule of covering up the truth. The Chinese news authorities have impressed both the domestic and overseas audience by showing tolerance and responsiveness to information flow in the online community, and they seem to have realized that open information is in the best interest of everyone, except perhaps corrupt officials.

     

Also exposed by the earthquake were the poorly constructed school buildings. The people discovered that schools were much more vulnerable to earthquakes than government mansions because building codes were not rigorously implemented by the contractors who bought off the building inspectors. The investigation of why so many schools collapsed is therefore crucial to the Chinese government's credibility among the public, especially among the parents of the students who died in the toppled schools. It has been suggested that in order for the government to placate the parents who are still mourning for their children, the government needs to conduct an open and just investigation, as well as to employ independent organizations to inspect schools across the country, and renovate those that do not meet the codes.

     

Along with the contractors who failed to build safe schools, the Chinese Red Cross Society also received a significant amount of criticism for not being transparent. As a result of increasing civil rights awareness, the Chinese public has been demanding to know what has happened to their Red Cross donations. Moreover, since the Red Cross not an entirely non-governmental organization and is one of only two organizations in the country that is allowed to raise public funds for disaster relief, it has largely monopolized the charity sector. The Chinese Red Cross's slogan "Please trust us" is thus hardly convincing, since after all, a charity organization could only be credible when it admits and responds to public distrust by establishing an effective supervision system.

     

Last but not least, the earthquake has revealed to the world that corruption is still a major problem facing the Communist leadership. Any prudent China observer should be aware that the political openness during and shortly after the quake is no guarantee of future transparency. A lot of rent-seeking space will emerge in the post disaster reconstruction, and it is only through open information that the Chinese government can ensure quality construction of schools built on the debris of Wenchuan, where thousands of innocent children lost their lives at the cost of corruption.

     

The earthquake has brought China both challenges and opportunities. If the government fails to seriously address the problems revealed by the earthquake, such as corruption and take advantage of its opportunities i.e. open information and the awakening of civil society, its legitimacy will face serious challenges as a result of growing social discontent. Whether the earthquake can really change China depends on the political wisdom of the Chinese leaders, as well as their willingness to keep up the effort toward political openness. Let us hope that the victims of the quake have not died in vain, and that their sacrifice will bring real change to China.

 

For the original article in Chinese, click here.