Disaster

Today's news that Sichuan Province suffered an earthquake measuring 7.9 is not welcome news. Any region of the world would suffer significant loss of life after a tremblor of that degree and I fear the early numbers of casualties will only increase. Our sympathies go out to the Chinese victims and their families.

The strategic question is, what impact will the quake have on China going forward? Politically, the Chinese Government is under pressure to show they learned the lesson of this year's winter snowstorms that paralyzed the nation and demonstrated organizational weakness. If they don't demonstrate improved preparedness and effective rescue operations, the central government in Beijing will be weakened as the provincial governments adapt to deal with the anxiety of a massive population moving inexorably into closer, more interdependent quarters. New America Foundation out-going chairman, James Fallows, writing from Beijing, begins to examine the PR response of Beijing. I've attached it below.