i have heard the head of the Wall Street Journal Shanghai office say on an American radio show that many of his correspondents at the earthquake site saw lots of soldiers arriving to do rescue work, but just standing around not knowing what to do.

also, a few articles in the New York Times and reports on NPR were critical about some aspects of the relief work.  for example:

Tiny Bodies in a Morgue, and Grief in China - New York Times

"I am Grandpa Wen Jiabao," the prime minister said as he watched two children being pulled from the rubble, according to Xinhua, the official state news agency. "Hold on, kids! You'll definitely be rescued."

But enraged parents interviewed at the morgue on Wednesday afternoon and early Thursday morning say local officials lied to the prime minister to hide the true toll at Xinjian, which they estimate at more than 400 dead children. Several parents blamed local officials for a slow initial rescue response and questioned the structural safety of the school building. They were also furious that officials forbade them to search for their children for two days and then allowed access to the bodies only after the parents formed an ad hoc committee to complain.

"Before Wen Jiabao came, the whole school was filled with children's bodies," said one mother who sat outdoors at the morgue with her husband in the early morning darkness beside the covered body of their 8-year-old daughter. "Her father and I had stood outside the school since the earthquake. We pleaded with the government: `If she is dead, I want to see the body. If she is alive, I want to see her.' "

Her husband, a thin man, leaned forward into the yellow light of two candles. "We're telling you the truth," he said. "Get the truth out."

on the other hand, maybe the amount of incompetence and inefficiency that no doubt is happening, while very regrettable, may not be as high as we might expect.

for one thing, when you put fire under Chinese people's asses, shit gets done, and fast, and pretty well at that.  and i think people are genuinely extremely motivated.

also, the coverage has been unprecedently open, so there are more chances for reporters to expose problems in the relief effort.

even foreign reporters, and this blogger Sascha, an American who does not hesitate to criticize China, seems to have been impressed.

my guess is that reporters -- both Chinese reporters, who have more freedom than they have ever had and are probably more motivated than ever to report the best stories, as well as foreign reporters -- are observing lots of less than flattering things amidst the rescue and recovery effort.

but sensing the trauma of the whole country, they, or their editors, are choosing not to focus on those aspects, "out of good will", to allow the Chinese more time and space to get through this immediate extremely difficult period without introducing painful and divisive questions, such as...

Building code enforcement

there have been murmurs about the terrible quality of the buildings.  you don't hear about it much.  but everyone knows that's the big issue on the backburner, and on the one hand i think people are really pissed about it and absolutely want to address it eventually, but on the other hand know that when it comes out, it's going to stir up a huge amount of anger and pain that will destroy the current mood of solidarity, mourning, and united effort.

i also have my own issues with the delay in getting helicopters bringing rescuers into the inaccessible areas, as well as getting foreign rescue specialists from Japan, Taiwan and other countries.

i hope with some more time, these issues will be addressed. as i wrote before,

秋後算賬 Qiū hòu suàn zhàng: "After the harvest, we'll get the numbers straight."

but the Olympics are almost here.  will people, the media, want to bring up these painful issues before then?  but if we wait till after the Olympics, will people still remember?  will they care as much?  will other issues sweep in to take their place?

that is probably what government officials are praying for, thus explaining the extraordinary media press in China about the earthquake: stoke, cultivate and ride this national wave of unity and goodwill until the more disturbing aspects of earthquake can be blotted away with the Olympics.

but I think the western press will not wait.  i just hope they can find subtle, diplomatic ways to get the message across constructively without shooting themselves in the foot by pricking the dragon of Chinese nationalism.

here is one recent effort:

Also, on the government's handling of the crisis as well as other issues, see this "Q&A" with New York Times reporters for some interesting remarks:

Q&A: The Earthquake in China - Questions/Answers - Reader's Questions - New York Times Blog

In talking to people here in Sichuan Province, I've gotten a range of reactions to the government's handling of the earthquake. I don't have a scientific sampling, but up until now, most people I've met seem fairly satisfied. For example, when I visited the largest camp for displaced people that had been set up so far, in a stadium in Mianyang, many people there told me they believed the government was providing adequate food, water and shelter. The positive opinions are bolstered by a patriotic rallying cry in the face of such tremendous horror, similar to the passions that swept the United States after 9/11.

But I've also heard from people who are angry at what they call the slow reaction of government officials to coping with the disaster. The first morning after the earthquake, I met a woman in Dujiangyan, where many buildings had collapsed, who blamed local officials for not coming to help rescue some of her relatives even though she said she had called the officials at least 10 times. My colleague Jim Yardley spoke to parents whose children were killed in a school collapse just outside Dujiangyan and heard a lot of anger directed toward local officials. -- Edward Wong