Opinion | Plenty of roadblocks while covering Yaan earthquake
The government’s disaster relief efforts are poorly managed, and probably the major reason for the traffic jams. But it is just a microcosm of China’s chaotic bureaucracy, where rules are constantly changing.
The small city of Yaan is almost at capacity, with volunteers and reporters from around the world converging, some hoping to help quake survivors.
Meanwhile, the traffic is terrible. It takes double the normal time to get to the quake-hit counties from Yaan. The government claimed it was because the roads were blocked by debris and waste, and inexperienced volunteers rushing into the area.
But this SCMP reporter found the government’s disaster relief efforts poorly managed, and probably the major reason for the traffic jam.
It is a microcosm of China’s chaotic bureaucracy, where rules are constantly changing.
For example, soon after the 7-magnitude quake on Saturday struck the southwestern province of Sichuan – near where a devastating 7.9 temblor hit in 2008 – the Sichuan government launched an emergency media office in its provincial capital of Chengdu. The office required all media workers to register for press cards, and promised to allow reporters to use closed highways to get to quake-hit regions.