China’s earthquake
中国地震
Days of disaster
灾难里的日日夜夜
May 15th 2008 | BEIJING AND DUJIANGYAN
From The Economist print edition
Two natural disasters; two very different responses. We look first at the government’s response to the earthquake in China, then at poor Myanmar
两场自然灾害,两种不同的反应。我们首先关注中国政府对地震的反应,然后再转向不幸的缅甸
“DON’T cry, don’t cry. It’s a disaster, and you’ve survived,” China’s prime minister, Wen Jiabao, told weeping orphans in a town almost flattened by the country’s worst natural disaster in more than 30 years. Mr Wen’s awkward words may have done little to calm the bereaved children. But amid the huge destruction caused by the earthquake of May 12th, China’s leaders thus far have scored some unusual public-relations successes.
“别哭,别哭,这是一场灾难,你们幸存下来了。”中国总理温家宝在一个几乎被地震夷为平地的镇上安慰哭泣的孤儿,中国遭受了近三十年来最为严重的自然灾 害。温总理笨拙的语言可能对于安慰这些失去双亲的儿童没有太大的作用,但是在5月12日这场地震造成的巨大损失中,中国领导人在这次非同寻常的公众关系处理 上获得了迄今为止最大的成功。