The China Earthquake A Personal Perspective Lee Sai Hon
			My heart sinks when I see the devastations caused by the quakes.......
	I am very appreciative of Chee Ham's essay. It gives me a historical perspective on the Chinese government's response to previous quakes. During the current quake, we learned much more and much faster on daily happenings via TV and news prints since the initial quake - thanks to the reporting of foreign reporters at the scene - obviously with the cooperation and sometimes encouragement from the Chinese government. I think the response of the Chinese government and its willingness to allow the world to witness its response is mainly due to two other events - the recent crack down in Tibet and the upcoming summer Olympics. In my view, had it not been for these two events the government's response would have been vastly different.
	The summer Olympics is the crown jewel of all international sports. Often it is an image makeover for the hosting country - especially for a country with repressive history. The Chinese government wants to make sure that the Games proceed peacefully, and to showcase and impress the world on today's "new" China. The angle is on international tourism and international acceptance and respect for an emerging world power.
	In order to achieve these goals the government has no other option but to open itself to the world prior to the Games and to report promptly the quakes' devastation and the succeeding government response.
				As to Tibet, much of the western world has expressed condemnation of the Chinese government's violent crack down on the recent demonstration for independence in Tibet. For the Chinese government it is an internal matter. You and I might disagree on what should have been an appropriate response by the Chinese government. But for many westerners the freedom of expression and freedom of speech are "rights" of any citizen - regardless of the political makeup of the government.
	There have been talks about boycotting the Olympics by many western countries - both at the opening ceremonies and by athletes during the actual individual events. Any such would derail the government's goals for the Olympics and bring unnecessary negative public relations, and would no doubt compromise the governments intended goals for the Games. As an oversea Chinese, my heart sinks when I see the devastations caused by the quakes. However, I am also thankful to be "in the know". To be honest, I care less about the motivation of the Chinese government. I just hope that the best efforts are being exercised to minimize the pain and help those affected by the quakes. Let's all say a prayer for those impacted. Sadly for many, lives will never be the same.
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