Image via WikipediaImagethief comes with a few thoughtful considerations as he compares the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake with the effects of 9/11 in the US. Both events brought the nation together in sorrow, having a profound effect on how people view their country and the rest of the world.Looking at the reaction across the country, it is easy to imagine so. The covers of the memorial newspapers, nicely collected in collage by Chinese blogger Hecaitou (H/T Danwei), are reminiscent of the stark and shocked reporting that followed 9/11. The nationwide outpouring of solidarity (also here) and charity and the celebration of heroic rescue workers is also reminiscent of 9/11.
There are other parallels as well. China is no stranger to sweeping catastrophe and mass fatality, but this is the first disaster of this scope of China's post-reform period. That makes it China's first true mass-media disaster and, in parallel with 9/11 in the US, China's first Internet disaster, shared in real-time across the entire country and around the world. In fact, considering technological developments since 2001, the Internet plays a much more important role in the public experience of China's quake than it did for 9/11, which was largely defined by television images.
1 comment:
There is no comparison between 9/11 and China's earthquake. 9/11 was an attack on American soil by foreigners, whereas the China earthquake was a natural disaster. The loss of life in both are equally sad, but the 9/11 attack and the China earthquake still do not compare. It is better to compare natural disaster to natural disaster (i.e. Indonesia tsunami and China earthquake).
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