Let the soft power of our country grow strong

The devastation caused by the 8.2 scale earthquake in Sichuan has claimed tens of thousands of lives and ruined countless families. Chinese government has allowed the foreign media to report on the calamity and this was unperceivable in the past. CCTV has kept on updating the information on the disaster. The government even arranged a news conference to answer the queries raised by media. All these unprecedented acts have been well praised and won support from western leaders. Compared with the xenophobic responses of the Myanmar government to foreign aids, the openness and swift response of the Chinese government to the quake disaster have been widely recognized and acknowledged by people all over the world.

Premier Wen JiaPao’s firm support to the rescue team at the scene and his heart-felt empathy sent to victims have made him a spiritual leader of the rescue operation. His performance in risk management is more than comparable to what the ex-mayor did after the 911 attack in New York.

Through the media, the bravery acts of soldiers and civilians to pull victims from rubble without paying much attention to their own safety have been broadcast worldwide. Hundreds of millions of people around the globe were moved by these scenes and they together with myriad NGOs pour huge aids to relief the plight of people in Sichuan. Netizens and NGOs in China have self-organized to do what they can to help the rescue operation.

All the above mentioned features are signs of a maturing civic society. Government’s swift responses to disaster, free information flow and strong mobilizing power of self-organized civilian groups demonstrate a substantial rise in the ’soft power’ of our country. We hope ‘the soft power’of our country will grow strong, perpetuate and push the peaceful development of our country to a new level.