KEY POINTS:
When the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2008 Games to Beijing, it was as much in hope as expectation.
Some delegates argued that China should not receive this showcase event until it had addressed its poor human rights record. Those who prevailed suggested the Olympics could spur the Chinese leaders to mend their ways. Time has proved them right. China's response to this week's catastrophic earthquake in Sichuan province has revealed a compassion, openness and efficiency that casts the country in a new light.
Only a few years ago, the approach would have been far different. At the height of the Sars epidemic and the bird flu threat, China covered up what was happening not only from the outside world but from its own hapless citizens. The Government's instinctive reaction was to censor anything that might reflect badly upon it or the country. Pride demanded as much. Contrast that with the aftermath of the earthquake: an open-door policy to the Western media and a steady stream of uncensored information to the Chinese people.
There has been no attempt to falsely portray the authorities as being in control, even as the death toll escalated and damage to key infrastructure, including dams, became apparent.
Concern for those affected by the tragedy took precedence. Now, there has even been a plea for help from the Chinese military, which has always prided itself on being able to cope with natural disasters. It has issued a public appeal to its own citizens for rescue equipment, and accepted outside help, starting with a rescue team from Japan. Beijing has even accepted blankets, tents and clothes from Taiwan, long regarded as a renegade province.
This is not an isolated change. There have been other signs of improvement for those willing to see them. China's response to demonstrations in Tibet, themselves a predictable outcome of the awarding of the Olympics, was restrained. There was no repeat of Tiananmen Square. China, however naively, also reached out to the West by sending the Olympic torch on a global journey. This friendly gesture received a rough and largely unfair reception from demonstrators, and became a public relations fiasco. But lessons were doubtless learned.
The Olympics have been a clear catalyst for change. China is determined to present its best face to the world and to win international respect. But they are not the only reason. Economic development is generally also the harbinger of democracy and a greater sensitivity to the needs of a populace. China, obviously, still falls far short of Western precepts of democracy and human rights. But it deserves considerable credit for coming so far in so short a time.
The transformation is particularly apparent if China's response to the Sichuan earthquake is compared to the Myanmar junta's disregard for its citizens following Cyclone Nargis' devastation of the Irrawaddy Delta. The verdict on Myanmar's rulers could, until relatively recently, have been applied to Beijing whenever a natural disaster struck. This time, while General Than Shwe remained closeted and Myanmar's borders closed to desperately needed foreign aid, Wen Jiabao, China's Prime Minister, orchestrated the relief effort and appeared repeatedly on television offering comfort and support.
That contrast has been widely acknowledged. But the West should appreciate not only the impressive earthquake response but the willingness of China's leaders to engage with the world and set about putting their house in order. The more encouragement they receive, the more likely it is those policies will be pursued. For China, the Olympics are an opportunity and an examination. Three months out from them, it has already passed an unexpected test.
