11 June 2008: The earthquake that devastated the Sichuan province of China on May 12 has provided the world a glimpse past China's typically austere exterior, to reveal a vulnerability rarely witnessed and a level of compassion that has gained worldwide attention. Though this demonstration of solidarity comes at a time of great sorrow for the people of China, these events have effectually shifted the focus away from civil rights abuses and the Tibet issue and placed it rather on China's assertiveness and ability to quickly address the needs of its people in trying times.

This has been the deadliest disaster to strike China since the Tangshan earthquake of 1976. The differences in the government's reactions of then and now are striking. Though the details of this month's earthquake are tragic, China's swift response and openness to foreign aid in dealing with the situation have been well publicized and applauded by the international community.

Too often our concentration is consumed with the negatives in the world, with the problems that hinder us from achieving peace and justice. The recent events in Sichuan are anything but sunny, however, in contrast to stories of late that elicit feelings of fear, envy, or angst in regards to China's growing influence, this is one that has let us see a very human side of how progress—economic, social, and political—can visibly impact a country's ability to cope in times of hardship.

After initial hours of confusion and delays, the Chinese government managed to mobilize 8,000 soldiers and police to be sent to the affected areas. State media was not far behind, providing non-stop coverage of the destruction and rescue efforts as they were taking place. In the past, such graphic footage of a domestic disaster had rarely been broadcasted with the same candor. CCTV, China's state-run network provided around the clock coverage of the events and updates on the rescue operations. Cameras followed Premier Wen Jiabao on his visit to the site just hours after the earthquake struck, encouraging those still trapped in the rubble over a loud-speaker that everything was being done to aid in their rescues.

China seems to have learned valuable lessons from past incidents to which it did not respond with such fervor or transparency. The government's response immediately after the 1976 quake was a calculated reluctance to address the situation's seriousness in an attempt to appear 'unshaken' by the event. It took days for organized relief operations to reach the worst hit areas. Efforts were compromised further by the lack of basic rescue equipment and medical supplies. All foreign aid—even that from neutral international bodies like the United Nations and Red Cross—was turned away by the PRC's paranoid leadership of the time. The extent of the damage was kept hidden from the international community and the numbers of dead and injured were not released until 1979 leading many to believe that the figures had been manipulated. Officially, 242,419 people died in Tangshan's earthquake making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history, in many respects due to government's lackadaisical response.

Although many factors differentiate the two incidents, when comparisons are made it is the impressive response to last month's earthquake that highlights the transformation that has taken place in Chinese society in the past three decades. The liberalization of China's economic policies has been effective in opening other doors of communication, ending the strict isolationism practiced for a significant portion of the last century. China now seems open to international assistance, accepting nearly $10 million in aid money from Japan, its traditional rival in the region, and has been forthcoming with accurate information, critical in the difficult process of identifying the dead and getting aid and resources to families and individuals who are most desperately in need. The government has since allocated $120 million and 178,000 troops and reservists to help with the rescue efforts in the disaster zones. 510,000 tons of relief materials, including food, tents, medical supplies, and prefabricated houses and schools have been delivered to the area as well.

Although China is currently in the world's spotlight for various reasons, a slow response to last month's earthquake would have prompted international criticism—as it did in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina and today in Burma, still reeling from the cyclone that hit the country in early May. The impressive effort on the part of the government and the outpouring of support and donations topping $1 billion from Chinese citizens has seemed genuinely heartfelt. Like in similar cases of disaster, these events have been effective in bringing China together, demonstrating the will of a nation to move past tragedy.