China's unexpected response

When the Communist nation of Myanmar suffered a devastating cyclone in May 2008, the world responded immediately to the country’s pressing need for food and water for 220,000 cyclone victims. The United States immediately dispatched four Navy ships carrying supplies to deliver to areas hit by the storm. But their military regime feared that the supplies were a ruse to attack the country.

http://msatokyo.wordpress.com/

After circling for days, the four U. S. ships gave up without delivering the humanitarian supplies. Finally, when supplies were ultimately distributed, the ruling Myanmar junta plastered the boxes with the names of top generals, attempting to turn the relief effort into an exercise in propaganda.

The Myanmar generals’ attempt to influence public opinion was dishonest, at best. They were attempting to put their generals’ names on supplies that were not provided by the generals. In fact the military leaders denied their transport based on distrust for Western culture, which cost many citizens their lives. 


More than 23,000 people died and 37,000 went missing as a result of the Myanmar cyclone, despite the International Red Cross and the United States attempting to provide assistance.

That same month, China’s Sichuan Province experienced the 19th deadliest earthquake of all time, resulting in 69,000 deaths. This disaster occurred two months prior to the Olympics in China. As the death toll rose in the province, China went against past diplomatic practice and openly accepted disaster relief and equipment from other nations, including historical adversaries Japan and Taiwan. While the response to the Myanmar stonewalling was highly criticized, the response by the Chinese gained worldwide praise.

The previous disaster in Myanmar combined with the upcoming Olympics probably led to China’s open and accommodative response to the help of other nations. From a public relations perspective, refusing help from those competing in the Olympics would have been insulting and could have jeopardized the success of the upcoming event. Therefore, China’s public relations response to the earthquake was most definitely affected by the timing of the Olympics.

If they had refused to receive assistance, world opinion might have changed leaving the world regretting hosting the Olympics in China. In addition, some countries might have thought the insult too great and might have backed out of the competition.