China sees the best and worst of America in Boston Marathon bombing

[galvatron]

China sees the best and worst of America in Boston bombing

China’s many Web users tend to watch U.S. events closely, so it was no surprise to see the Monday bombings at the Boston Marathon become the top trending topic on Weibo, China’s massive social media service. Some of this conversation turned around often-debated questions of the relative merits of the Chinese and American systems. The comments are revealing, both for what they say about how the U.S. and its values are perceived in China and for how Chinese compare the U.S. to their own country.
For all the American obsession with security and safety, it’s the U.S.’s show of transparency, of coming together in common cause, that seems to be stirring jealously and even reverence in far-away China.
Chinese Web users seemed to draw two general conclusions: that China would be more effective at preventing a Boston-style attack, but that the U.S. is better equipped to respond to and cope such an event. They portrayed China as a formidable security state that privileges safety and secrecy, but the U.S. as a place where officials, police and citizens work together in harmony and cooperation.
It’s a somewhat rosy perspective of the U.S., one discussed jealously, even reverently. Many Chinese commenters seemed to treat this American trade-off – less security for greater transparency – as not only preferable but something from which their own country should learn.
“I’m not saying that the US is much better than China,” one Weibo user wrote in a comment aggregated by the site Offbeat China. “But in the face of a bombing attack, they have absolute information transparency and absolute freedom of speech. There is no ban on reporting or block of information. All media are allowed to report, which will never happen in our country.”
Here’s another, widely shared Weibo comment that drew a sharp comparison between the U.S. response and China’s typical secrecy.

Three hours after the Boston bombing, news websites and TV channels are streaming live news – there is no ban on news reporting. Local police held a press conference immediately – quick reaction plus transparent information and thus there is no rumor or panic. Google released Person Finder; the public offered help for those runners who are from outside of Boston or the country; thousands of people left their contact information. In the face of a severe situation, the government, the media, companies and individuals all work together smoothly. It’s something we ought to learn.
Some Weibo users suggested that a similar attack would have been far more difficult to carry out in major Chinese cities, where police surveillance is famously rigorous. One argued that, even if someone did succeed in setting off bombs in China, “With no immediate press conference and all information blocked, the terrorists would have no proof that they indeed attacked. There will be no impact at all.”
Though few users seemed to disagree that the Chinese government’s initial response to such an attack would be secrecy, many argued that this would actually hurt the country’s ability to respond and address the needs of victims. Here is a much-cited Weibo comment arguing how China would respond to a Boston-style attack in one of its own cities:

In China, government press release starts at best 6 hours after the attack. During the 6 hours, most media remain silent because they are not given the permission to report yet. On the Internet, rumors start to spread. Angry netizens start to blame the government for doing nothing. Public intellectuals [a term used to describe liberals] start to accuse the government of failing their responsibilities. No one mentions a word about the victims or those who suffer from the attack. Our government has a long way to go. Our netizens also have a long way to go.

Link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...oston-bombing/

[darkcser]

I have to say that even with this degree of transparency in this age of digital information, rumor and speculation still ran rampant.

Even today I'm not sure if they shut down the cell network in the area, jammed the signal (believing the devices to be remotely triggered via cell) or it was simply overloaded by too many users trying to call friends and family while being concentrated in a small area.

There was also the third "explosion" we heard about an hour or so after the first two. We heard everything from there were only two devices, to they found a third but triggered it on purpose with a water cannon, to they found a suspicious package and tried to blow it up. All we know is that we heard a sound similar to the first two but our building didn't shake the third time.

The Copley area is still blocked off today (3 days after the marathon).